Guwahati, Oct 12: The Gauhati High Court has sought details from the Assam government on when the Nagaon Foreigners’ Tribunal (FT) prepared its opinions declaring Jahanara Begum and Mumtaz Begum foreigners.
During a hearing on October 7, a Bench of Justices Kalyan Rai Surana and Pranjal Das asked the state to provide the date and time when the opinions were prepared.
The court warned that it would presume the opinions “were not made ready within the appropriate time” before the women were taken into police custody if the state failed to provide the details, The Indian Express reported.
The court is hearing the two cases separately but has issued similar orders in both. The orders were uploaded to the High Court’s website on Thursday.
The two women were sent to Bangladesh while their legal challenges were still pending. Their whereabouts remain unknown, with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) telling the court that efforts to trace them are continuing.
During the hearing, the MEA sought more time to trace the women, saying that an inquiry into their whereabouts is still underway.
Reports in late September said Bangladeshi authorities had begun searching for Mumtaz after media outlets contacted them about her case.
In September, the High Court had directed the Assam government to investigate when the Nagaon tribunal prepared fresh opinions declaring the two women foreigners. These opinions led to their deportation.
According to court records, Mumtaz, 43, had been declared a foreign national by the Foreigners’ Tribunal, 4th Nagaon, at Juria.
She was handed over to the Border Security Force on June 13 and sent to Bangladesh during the night of June 13-14 through the Kalaincherra area of Cachar district.
The High Court later ordered the Assam government to pay interim compensation of Rs 2 lakh to her husband, Mujammel Hoque.
The court noted that Mumtaz had been sent to Bangladesh without her husband or any adult family member being informed of her detention.
It also said the circumstances had prevented her from properly challenging the tribunal’s decision.
The case has also sparked a political row in Assam. During the recently concluded Nagaon bypoll, Opposition parties questioned the state government over the deportations.
The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) filed a police complaint against BJP candidate Devashish Sharma, who was the Nagaon deputy commissioner during the period in question.
The Assam Congress also wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, seeking his intervention to trace the two women.