Guwahati, Sept. 11 -- The Gauhati High Court on September 3 ordered the Ministry of External Affairs to initiate efforts to trace and repatriate Mumtaz Begum, a 43-year-old Muslim woman who was deported to Bangladesh in May 2026.

The issue dates back to 1998, when Mumtaz's citizenship battle began after a police reference was made against her in the Foreigners' Tribunal. She had submitted her grandfather's name in the 1965 and 1970 voter lists, her father's name in the 1977 voter list, a school transfer certificate and panchayat-issued certificates proving her lineage. Despite these documents, the tribunal declared Mumtaz a foreigner in June 2019.

HC says tribunal did not consider evidence on record

Her husband, Mujammel Hoque, moved t...