HC Raised Serious Concerns About Administrative, Procedural Shortcomings In Assam’s Foreigners Tribunals
- By Thetripurapost Desk, Guwahati
- Jun 25, 2025
- 748
The Gauhati High Court’s strong remarks on the disorganised state of records in Assam’s Foreigners Tribunals (FTs) underscore a serious administrative and judicial concern — one that goes beyond just the individual case of Gobinda Saha.
Here's a breakdown of the key implications and issues raised by the court's intervention:
Key Takeaways from the Court's Observations:
1. Serious Procedural Lapses:
The case involved overlapping and mislabelled exhibits, which impeded clarity and fair adjudication.
The petitioner, Gobinda Saha, may have suffered due to inadequate legal representation and poor case management.
2. Systemic Deficiency:
The High Court highlighted not just one tribunal’s error, but a broader pattern of poor documentation and record-keeping.
It took the judges and their private secretaries more than two hours to make sense of the tribunal’s documentation — a telling sign of systemic disorder.
3. Call for Administrative Reform:
The court directed that the Home and Political (B) Department consider formal training programs for FT members and superintendents to standardise and improve record-keeping practices.
It also ordered the circulation of this judgment to all FTs in Assam — suggesting a state-wide directive, not just a case-specific correction.
Why This Matters:
Human Rights & Due Process: Foreigners Tribunals deal with people’s citizenship and identity, which are foundational rights. Faulty documentation and poor legal support can result in wrongful declarations of someone being an “illegal foreigner.”
Precedent for Oversight: This judicial order could push for greater oversight and accountability of FTs, especially amid growing scrutiny over how they operate within Assam’s complex citizenship matrix.
Administrative Capacity Building: The ruling acknowledges the importance of capacity-building within quasi-judicial institutions, a necessity if FTs are to function with fairness and legal integrity.
Background Context:
Assam is the only Indian state with Foreigners Tribunals, instituted to address concerns about undocumented migration, particularly from neighboring Bangladesh. However, these tribunals have often faced criticism over:
Lack of legal safeguards for the accused
Speedy, non-transparent decisions
Disparities in legal aid and interpretation of documents
What Could Happen Next:
The Assam government may need to formulate training modules and documentation standards for tribunal staff.
It could also lead to reviews of past decisions made under similarly poor procedural conditions, though that would depend on political and legal will.
NGOs and legal aid bodies might use this precedent to push for broader reform and monitoring of FTs.