New Delhi, July 14 -- The Supreme Court on Monday set aside a batch of Gauhati High Court orders that upheld declarations of some people as foreigners and remanded the cases to the concerned Foreigners Tribunals for fresh adjudication.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta made it clear that it had not examined the merits of the appellants' claims to Indian citizenship.

The bench also observed that the determination of citizenship and foreigner status "must be carried out through a fair, lawful and reasonable process".

It said that the issue of citizenship carries profound constitutional significance and must be decided in accordance with the requirements of fairness.

It also acknowledged the State's interest in preventing...