New Delhi, July 13 -- The Supreme Court on Monday, June 13, set aside a batch of Gauhati High Court judgments that had upheld the declaration of 27 people as foreigners, holding that citizenship and foreigner status must be determined through a "fair, lawful and reasonable" process.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta allowed the appeals and remanded the cases to the concerned Foreigners Tribunals for fresh adjudication, observing that questions of citizenship carry "profound constitutional significance."

"Citizenship and foreigner status occupy a field of high constitutional and legal significance," the bench said.

Balance State's interest with fairness: SC

The court acknowledged that the government has a stake in preve...