The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Centre and the Assam government on a Muslim woman’s complaint that she was being forcibly deported to Bangladesh based on a foreigners tribunal ruling that she was an illegal immigrant despite the production of documents proving her Indian citizenship.

“Let notice be issued for the limited purpose of enquiring into the genuineness of the documents relied upon by the petitioner’s brother, who has filed an affidavit on her
behalf returnable on March 16, 2026,” a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said in an order after hearing senior advocate Chandra Uday Singh appearing for petitioner Musstt Aheada Khatun.

Khatun filed the petition after Gauhati High Court on August 21, 2025, dismissed her plea challenging the order passed on September 12, 2019, by the foreigners tribunal declaring her to be a “foreigner of post-1971 stream”.

“The petitioner respectfully submits that the present case arises from a long and unfortunate history of proceedings that began with a police reference allegedly made in the year 1998, on the basis of a report of the electoral registration officer, without notice or participation of the petitioner,” Khatun submitted.

“The said reference culminated in F.T. Case No. 72/2017, wherein the learned tribunal... was pleased to hold that the petitioner failed to establish linkage with her Indian parents and grandparents — despite the production of nine admissible documents,” she added.

She said the high court declined to interfere, not on merits, but solely on the ground that the petitioner had failed to “explain the delay” in approaching the court.

Khatun was taken into custody on September 30 and is lodged at the Matia detention centre.