The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the deportation of four women from Assam, which was earlier ordered by a special foreigners’ tribunal in the state on the ground that they were illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice V. Mohana ordered authorities to maintain status quo till the next hearing on July 16. The court also directed the respondents to file their replies within four weeks.
The bench issued notices to the Centre, the Assam government and the Election Commission on separate petitions filed by Sarbhanu Begum, Saleha Khatun, Basiram Nessa and Musstt Nureza Begum.
The women challenged the concurrent findings of the special foreigners’ tribunal, Assam, and Gauhati High Court, which had affirmed the tribunal’s findings that they had illegally entered the country and were liable for deportation.
“Issue notice, returnable on 16th July 2026. In the meantime, the status quo as it exists today shall be maintained. Petitioners, if they are in detention, shall not be deported till the next date of listing, that is July 16, 2026,” Justice Nath said while tagging the four matters for hearing
together.
The petitioners pleaded that they had been lodged in detention centres for several years despite being Indian citizens by birth.
According to the petitioners, they were born to Indian parents and have lived in India since birth. Their names, the women said, appear in electoral rolls and other official records.
The women claimed they were nevertheless declared foreigners and made liable for deportation because of alleged discrepancies and mismatches in documents produced to establish their Indian citizenship.