Overview
- A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice to Assam to authenticate documents relied on by Aheda Khatun’s family, with a response due by March 16.
- The Foreigners’ Tribunal declared Khatun a foreigner on September 12, 2019, and the Gauhati High Court dismissed her challenge in August 2025 for delay without examining the merits.
- She was detained on September 30 and deported to Bangladesh on December 19 from the Matila transit camp after state authorities acted under the Immigrants Expulsion from Assam Act, 1950.
- Khatun’s petition says she was born in Assam in 1981 and that 16 family members are listed as accepted in the final NRC while she alone was marked doubtful voter due to the pending case.
- Her lawyers argue the tribunal misapplied the burden of proof and wrongly discarded certified public documents, including voter rolls, a school certificate, a Gaonburah certificate, and a registered gift deed.