Gauhati HC flags 1.16 lakh ‘foreigners’ yet to be expelled in Assam

The Gauhati High Court on 14 November expressed concern over 1,16,946 declared foreign nationals who have not been apprehended or expelled across Assam’s 36 districts, calling the situation a ‘very grim picture’. A division bench of Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Mridul Kumar Kalita made the observation while dismissing a writ petition by a woman declared a foreigner by the Foreigners Tribunal, Jorhat, in December 2018.

The court noted that the state government had submitted data compiled by the Senior Superintendent of Police (Border) showing the pending figure as of 30 June 2026. The woman’s legal remedies were exhausted after the Supreme Court dismissed her special leave petition in November 2025 and her review petition in March 2026. The state informed the court that arrangements had been made for her expulsion, and the bench declined to order her release.

In a separate but related judgment on 5 November, the same court had ruled that a PAN card and voter ID alone cannot prove citizenship, upholding a Foreigners Tribunal order against another woman, Kulchan Begum, of Darrang district. The court said such documents are issued on self-application without formal inquiry and must be backed by supporting records.