In a landmark judgment delivered last week, the Supreme Court declared Assam resident Rahim Ali an Indian citizen — bringing to a close a 12-year chapter that began with a Foreigners’ Tribunal in the state labelling him a foreigner.
Only, The Indian Express has found that Ali died over two-and-a-half years before the verdict, carrying the heavy tag of a “foreigner” and “illegal immigrant from Bangladesh” to his grave.
Ali, a resident of Kashimpur village in Assam’s Nalbari district, died in his village on December 28, 2021 at the age of 58, even as the apex court continued to hear his case.
This was after the Tribunal had delivered an ex-parte order in 2012 declaring him a foreigner since he had not appeared before it, stating that he “had failed to discharge his burden” under Section 9 of the Foreigners Act.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.