1. Framing the Intervention 25 1.4 The Foreigners Tribunals The centrality of documentary evidence in Assam’s citizenship regime stems from a broader legal architecture built on control. At the heart of this structure lies the Foreigners Act, 1946, a colonialera statute that forms the legal foundation of the FT system. The escalation of global conflict saw the Foreigners Ordinance, 1939 enacted as a wartime emergency measure, which evolved into the Foreigners Act, 1940, and subsequently the Foreigners Act, 1946, post-World War II. The authoritarian logic embedded in that context continues to shape the Act’s post-Independence form. It grants sweeping powers to the Central Government over individuals deemed “foreigners,” without establishing clear procedural safeguards or offering substantive rights to the accused. At its core, the Act confers upon the executive wide-ranging authority to regulate, restrict, detain, and deport any person who is not a citizen of India.33 “Foreigner” itself is defined broadly and vaguely as anyone who is “not a citizen of India”.34 The statute delegates vast powers to the executive with minimal judicial oversight and no structured process or protections for those targeted. The result is a framework in which the legal status of individuals is determined through opaque administrative procedures—without a guaranteed right to be heard, without requirements of proportionality or reasoned justification, and without a right of appeal. The absence of codified standards places individuals at the mercy of executive discretion. This legislative design raises serious constitutional concerns. Section 3(2)(g) of the Act, which authorises detention without a stated justification, was identified as incompatible with Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution as early as the Hans Muller of Nurenburg case.35 There, the then Attorney General, M.C. Setalvad, acknowledged that the provision became invalid after independence because of the Constitution’s provisions on due process rights. Though Section 3(2)(g) was deleted in 1957,36 it was reintroduced in 196237 under geopolitical pressures—revealing how national security imperatives have persistently overridden constitutional protections. In Assam, this exclusionary framework was reinforced by the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, which authorised the government to expel persons considered “detrimental to the interests of the general public of India.”38 With indemnity provisions shielding officials from accountability, the Act triggered a spike in deportations and drew diplomatic protest from Pakistan.39 To temper international criticism, the government introduced a judicial component in the form of the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964. Under this Order, the government could refer to the FT the question of whether a person is or is not a foreigner. The FT was required to serve on the person 33 Foreigners Act 1946, s 3. ibid s 2(a). 35 Hans Muller of Nurenburg v. Superintendent, Presidency Jail 1955 SCC OnLine SC 35. 36 Foreigners Laws (Amendment) Act 1957, s 3. 37 Foreigners Law (Application and Amendment) Act 1962, s 3. 38 Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act 1950, s 2. 39 Dinesh Chandra Jha, ‘Other Problems’, Indo-Pakistan Relations, 1960-1965 (Bharati Bhawan 1972) 274-279. 34