1. Framing the Intervention 15 Rahim Ali’s story is both tragically common and uncommon. It typifies the experiences of thousands who pass through Assam’s citizenship status determination—a regime that is among the most complex, far-reaching, and opaque in the world. Shaped by enduring anxieties over migration from what is now Bangladesh, this regime today includes 100 FTs, the National Register of Citizens (NRC), and associated border policing mechanisms. Assam’s FTs have declared close to 166,000 persons as foreigners, and more than 85,000 cases are still pending (see §1.1). The fate of around 2 million persons classified as suspected foreigners under the NRC (see §1.3) is also linked to the FTs. While ostensibly intended to identify “illegal migrants”, in practice it ensnares some of the most marginalised people in India—individuals who may lack extensive and error free documentary proof, but who often manage to produce significant records nonetheless, only to find them dismissed or insufficient. Rahim Ali’s case was also uncommon for having reached the Supreme Court’s doorstep. For the vast majority, legal recourse ends at the FTs and then, for a small proportion, at the Gauhati High Court. The systemic hurdles—cost, distance, legal complexity—make it nearly impossible for impoverished litigants to contest adverse decisions effectively. In this landscape, the FT process has profound importance, and any redress, when needed, often arrives after irreparable harm. This report critically examines the functioning of the FTs and the role of the Gauhati High Court within this adjudicatory machinery. It analyses the structure and operation of the FT system, scrutinises the judicial reasoning of the High Court, and assesses these practices against the benchmarks of constitutional law and international human rights standards. Drawing on empirical data, case law analysis, and interviews with legal practitioners, the report demonstrates how the system systematically fails to provide fair and reasoned adjudication—especially for those already facing social, economic, and legal precarity. 1 Rahim Ali’s story was widely covered in Indian newspapers. See ‘How the System Failed Rahim Ali, Indian’ (The Indian Express, 19 July 2024) <https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/how-the-system-failed-rahim-ali-indian-9462302/> accessed 29 June 2025. 2 Md. Rahim Ali @ Abdur Rahim v. State of Assam 2024 SCC OnLine SC 1695. 3 ibid [54]. 4 ibid [44]. 5 Sukrita Baruah, ‘Last Week, SC Declared Rahim Ali a Citizen; What Nobody Knew: He Died over Two Years Ago Branded “Foreigner”’ (The Indian Express, 18 July 2024) <https://indianexpress.com/article/long-reads/rahim-ali-citizenship-died-over-two-years-ago-brandedforeigner-9459966/> accessed 29 June 2025.