India, July 13 -- The Supreme Court has ruled that the determination of citizenship and foreigner status must be carried out through a fair, lawful and reasonable process, setting aside a batch of Gauhati High Court judgments that had upheld the declaration of 27 individuals as foreigners in Assam.

A Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta allowed the appeals and remanded the cases to the concerned Foreigners Tribunals for fresh adjudication.

The apex court observed that questions relating to citizenship have profound constitutional significance and cannot be decided without ensuring procedural fairness."Citizenship and foreigner status occupy a field of high constitutional and legal significance. The determination of suc...