A second chance for 27 Assam residents declared foreigners
The Supreme Court ordered a fresh review of 27 Assam residents' cases after they were declared foreigners by a tribunal, emphasizing the need for a fair process. Many of the affected individuals, including an elderly couple, faced prolonged detention and financial hardship while trying to prove their citizenship. The court remanded the cases to the tribunals and barred coercive actions until new adjudications are completed.
- ▪Noor Jahan and Abdul Jebbar, an elderly couple from Assam, spent years in detention after being declared foreigners in ex-parte orders.
- ▪The Supreme Court ruled that citizenship cannot be determined solely by mechanical procedures and sent the 27 cases back for fresh hearings.
- ▪The families incurred significant expenses, selling assets to afford legal representation over more than a decade.
- ▪The court instructed that no coercive action be taken against the appellants while the new proceedings are underway.
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HomeNextA second chance for 27 Assam residents declared foreignersMany of the declared foreigners cited illness, poverty, illiteracy or confusion about the legal process as reasons for not appearing before the foreign tribunalUpdated on: Jul 27, 2026, 06:27:47 ISTBy Biswa Kalyan Purkayastha, SilcharPrefer HTon GoogleShare viaCopy link The Detention of Noor Jahan and Abdul JebbarSixty-year-old Noor Jahan from Assam’s Morigaon spent seven years in a foreigners’ detention centre after a Foreigners Tribunal (FT) declared her an illegal foreigner in an ex-parte (one-sided) order in 2011. Her husband, Abdul Jebbar, 75, was declared a foreigner by the same quasi-judicial tribunal in 2012.Habib-ur-Rehman, who was released from a detention centre, rests in his home in Barpeta village of Assam.
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