Deported Jahanara and Mumtaz still ‘missing’, Gauhati HC warns state, Centre says search on

The Gauhati High Court has expressed concern over the "missing" status of two women, Jahanara Begum and Mumtaz Begum, who were deported from India to Bangladesh. The court warned the Assam government that if it does not provide information on when the Nagaon Foreigners' Tribunal (FT) made its opinion regarding their foreigner status, the court will presume that the opinion was not prepared within the appropriate time frame.

The women were deported on June 13 and 14, 2023, after the Assam government claimed they were found to be foreigners by the FT. The Centre's counsel informed the court that the Ministry of External Affairs was currently trying to trace the women. However, the families had to intervene to bring attention to their whereabouts, leading to the court's intervention and subsequent orders for compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to their families.

The cases of Jahanara and Mumtaz are similar, with the court directing the Assam government to probe the time when the FT decided their opinions and find the relevant data on the FT's computer. The court also dismissed the state's defense that declared foreigners "vanish from their last known address" and called the Nagaon District Commissioner's expulsion orders "farcical."