HC asks Assam to pay Rs 2 lakh to another woman forced into Bangladesh

The Gauhati High Court on Monday directed the Assam government to pay Rs 2 lakh in compensation to the son of a Bengali-origin Muslim woman who was forced into Bangladesh.

Jahanara Begum was declared a foreigner by a foreigners tribunal in 2019 and deported to Bangladesh in June.

Foreigners tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies unique to Assam that decide on matters of nationality on the basis of documentary evidence.

The High Court on Monday passed a similar order in the case of Mumtaz Begum, who had also been forced out into Bangladesh, directing the state to pay her Rs 2 lakh in compensation.

These are the first instances in which the court has imposed costs on the state for forcing a person to Bangladesh in violation of deportation rules.

In the case of Jahanara Begum, her son had challenged the manner in which his mother was detained and deported.

The court held that the authorities had failed to provide Jahanara Begum, or any adult member of her family, with a copy of the tribunal’s order before deporting her. This denied her an opportunity to challenge the decision before the High Court, it said.

Jahanara Begum had challenged the tribunal’s 2019 decision before the High Court. In April, the court set aside the decision after finding...

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