Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has raised serious concerns over the disorganised record-keeping practices in Assam’s Foreigners’ Tribunals (FTs) and suggested that the state government consider formal training for tribunal members and superintendents.
The observation was made by a division bench comprising Justices Kalyan Rai Surana and Malsri Nandi while hearing a writ petition filed by Gobinda Saha. Saha had been declared an “illegal foreigner” by a Foreigners’ Tribunal in Nagaon district, a decision which the High Court later overturned.
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While reviewing the case documents, the bench noted multiple instances of mislabelled or overlapping exhibits and stated that many of the submitted documents had not been referred to or discussed by the tribunal.
“It appears that the petitioner has not received the desired assistance of his learned counsel, who has failed to mark exhibits appropriately,” the court noted in its order passed on Thursday.
The judges further observed that the records were maintained in such a disorganised manner that it took the court, along with the assistance of private secretaries, more than two hours to trace the relevant documents. The bench described the documentation as “so haphazardly” kept that it warranted urgent attention.
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In light of these findings, the court directed the Registry to forward a copy of the order to the Commissioner and Secretary of the Home and Political Department of the Assam government.
The court urged the department to consider initiating a formal training programme for the members and superintendents of the FTs to improve record-keeping practices.
Additionally, the court ordered that the directive be circulated to all Foreigners’ Tribunals in the state to ensure wider awareness and compliance.