Aheda Khatun, a 44-year-old widow recently deported to Bangladesh from Assam, has moved the Supreme Court, asserting that she is an Indian citizen by birth and that 16 of her family members are included in the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The Supreme Court has taken cognizance of the matter and has directed officials to verify the documents submitted by her brother.
Khatun's case highlights the complexities and potential pitfalls of the NRC process in Assam, a state bordering Bangladesh that has long faced concerns about illegal immigration. The NRC, a register of Indian citizens in Assam, was updated between 2013 and 2019 under the Supreme Court's supervision to identify undocumented immigrants. The final list, published on August 31, 2019, included 31 million names out of 33 million applicants, leaving out over 1.9 million people. Those excluded were required to appeal to Foreigners Tribunals.
Khatun's lawyer, Adeel Ahmed, stated that she was deported from the Matila transit camp on December 19, 2025, while her case was still pending in the Supreme Court. Khatun claims she was born in India in 1981 to parents who were already registered voters for decades, making her an Indian citizen by birth under Section 3(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act. She was declared a foreigner by a tribunal in September 2019 after allegedly failing to conclusively prove her lineage. She then moved to the Gauhati High Court, but her plea was rejected due to a delay of more than five years.
According to her petition, every member of Khatun's family, including her parents and fourteen siblings, are included in the final NRC list. Khatun was marked as a "doubtful voter" (DV) solely due to the pending case before the Foreigners Tribunal. Khatun produced nine admissible documents, including inclusion in voter lists from 1965, 1970, 1985, and 1997, land records, a registered gift deed, her school certificate, and a certificate from her village elder.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, has issued a notice seeking a response from the Assam government and directed an inquiry into the authenticity of the documents submitted by Khatun's brother, who is a civil police officer. Senior advocate C U Singh is representing Khatun in the Supreme Court.
Khatun's case is not isolated. Many individuals excluded from the NRC have faced challenges in proving their citizenship, leading to detentions and deportations. The process has been criticized for placing a heavy burden on individuals to provide documentation dating back decades. The Supreme Court's intervention in Khatun's case raises important questions about the rights of those excluded from the NRC and the fairness of the tribunal process. The case also challenges Assam’s use of an old law that allows authorities to deport people quickly without further legal recourse after a tribunal declaration, raising questions about protecting individual rights. The court will decide if courts must review these cases even when appeals are late, especially when someone’s freedom is at risk. The next hearing is scheduled for March 16, 2026.
