New Delhi: The Gauhati high court has ordered the Assam government to pay Rs 2 lakh to the husband of a Bengali-origin Muslim woman as interim compensation for pushing her across the border into Bangladesh without giving her a chance to contest a Foreigners’ Tribunal order.The case involves Mumtaz Begum whose husband, Mujammel Hoque, moved the court through a habeas corpus petition after she was deported from India, The Hindu reported.On September 3, a division bench of Justices Kalyan Rai Surana and Susmita Phukan Khaund ruled in Hoque’s favour. It is the first time any court has penalised the state for violating deportation norms and pushing a person across to Bangladesh.The judges noted that the manner in which the Nagaon-based tribunal dealt with Begum’s file reflected the “malice in law” on the part of the tribunal. Foreigners’ Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies tasked with determining whether individuals suspected of being illegal immigrants are legal citizens or foreigners.Earlier, Begum appeared before the Guahati high court and managed to get the matter sent back to the tribunal after the high court found that not all the evidence she submitted had been properly considered. Yet when the tribunal reconsidered the case, it once again ruled against her on May 30, declaring her a foreigner.During the current hearing, the bench noted that Begum was picked up almost immediately after she was informed of the May 30 order before she got any chance to challenge it. The judges also raised questions over conflicting versions given by the tribunal member and the police about exactly when and how she was arrested.Procedure “violated,” court saysThe bench found that the sequence of events amounted to a “direct violation” of the standard operating procedure meant to govern the deportation of declared foreigners, a procedure that requires giving the person a fair chance to exhaust all legal options before removal.Ruling that the state had effectively blocked Begum from exercising her right to approach the high court, the bench ordered the Assam government to compensate her husband by paying him Rs 2 lakh.Also read: Cannot Deport a Foreign Citizen Unless Home Country Confirms Nationality, MHA Tells Supreme CourtThe order mentioned: “This palliative payment of compensation shall be in addition to and not in derogation of the right of the petitioner to seek compensation before the civil court.”The court has also asked Assam’s home and political department to look into when the tribunal’s May 30 order was actually drafted, going so far as to suggest that the tribunal member’s computer be seized if that’s what it takes to establish the timeline.In addition, the bench has instructed district Superintendents of Police across the state to make sure that anyone declared a foreign national is informed of the tribunal’s order before being taken into custody, and that an adult family member is notified before the person is moved out of the district.The court has also urged the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to “make an endeavour to have the woman located in Bangladesh and to expatriate her to India.”