New Delhi: The Supreme Court ruled that the law does not permit a foreigner tribunal established for determining illegal immigrants to act as an appellate authority over its own judgments and it is “powerless” to review its own orders.
A bench if Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan delivered the verdict while setting aside an Assam foreigner tribunal order that had reversed its own finding in a case concerning a woman declared to be an Indian citizen, reported Hindustan Times.
The Supreme Court’s ruling will have larger implications for cases overseen by foreigner tribunals and will ensure that once an individual has been declared an Indian citizen through due process, the state or the Centre cannot pursue repetitive litigation against them in the absence of fresh and valid grounds for review through an appropriate appellate mechanism.
The decision serves as a significant safeguard against whimsical proceedings that could subject individuals to prolonged legal uncertainty over their citizenship status.
The apex court’s ruling stemmed from the case of Reija Khatun who was declared an Indian citizen by the tribunal in 2018 but decided to continue the proceedings against her after entertaining the state’s second reference against Khatun.
“In the second order dated December 24, 2019, the tribunal goes to the extent of holding that it is not divested with the power to scrutiniae the documents and even findings in the earlier proceedings. The order indicates that the Tribunal wants to sit over in an appeal against its own concluded judgment and order. Such power can never be exercised by the Tribunal,” said the Supreme Court in its ruling.
