New Delhi, July 14 -- The Supreme Court on Monday underlined that the determination of citizenship and foreigner status must be made through a "fair, lawful and reasonable" process, emphasising grave consequences of declaring a person a foreigner require strict adherence to constitutional and statutory safeguards. The ruling assumes significance as the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls has triggered widespread concerns and disputes over citizenship claims in parts of the country, bringing questions surrounding proof of citizenship back into sharp public focus. Reading out the operative portion of the judgment, Justice Vikram Nath, heading a bench also comprising Justice Sandeep Mehta, allowed 27 appeals, set aside the 2024 judgments of the Gauhati High Court upholding the appellants' declaration as foreigners, and remanded the matters to the concerned Foreigners Tribunals for fresh adjudication. The detailed judgment is yet to be uploaded. The bench observed that citizenship and foreigner status occupy a field of "high constitutional and legal significance", making procedural fairness indispensable. "Citizenship and foreigner status occupy a field of high constitutional and legal significance," the court added. P8...