Congress MP and Lok Sabha Deputy Leader Gaurav Gogoi has urged Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to intervene to locate two women from Assam’s Nagaon district who were pushed into Bangladesh in June despite a Gauhati High Court order for fresh consideration of their citizenship cases.

In a letter dated October 2, Gogoi, an MP from Assam’s Jorhat constituency, asked the Ministry of External Affairs to trace Jahanara Begum and Mumtaz Begum and facilitate their return to India so they can pursue their legal remedies. He also urged the ministry to keep their families informed about efforts to locate them.

The two women were declared foreigners by a Foreigners’ Tribunal in Nagaon in 2019. In April 2026, the Gauhati High Court set aside the tribunal’s earlier opinions and remanded their cases for fresh consideration, finding that material evidence had not been properly considered.

Following the High Court’s order, Jahanara appeared before the tribunal on May 29, while Mumtaz appeared the following day. Both were taken into custody shortly afterwards.

According to Gogoi’s letter, the women were subsequently handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) and sent across the border through Gate No. 2 near Border Pillar No. 1339/MP on the intervening nights of June 13 and 14.

Gogoi alleged that neither woman was given an effective opportunity to obtain and challenge the fresh tribunal orders before approaching the High Court.

The Nagaon District Commissioner issued orders on June 2 directing both women to leave India within 24 hours, although they were already in state custody. Devashish Sharma was Nagaon District Commissioner at the time and is now the BJP candidate from Nagaon, according to Gogoi’s letter.

In orders dated September 3, the Gauhati High Court took serious note of the circumstances surrounding the women’s expulsion.

In Mumtaz’s case, the court found that the tribunal office had “deliberately and wilfully delayed” issuing a certified copy of its opinion and held that a case of “malice in law” had been made out. It also observed that the state machinery had effectively prevented her from exhausting her legal remedies. The court made similar observations in Jahanara’s case.

The High Court also examined the expulsion orders issued by the Nagaon District Commissioner. It described the order in Mumtaz’s case as “farcical”, observing that it could not reasonably have been complied with under the circumstances.

The court has since directed the Ministry of External Affairs to take appropriate steps to locate the two women in Bangladesh and facilitate their return to India so they can pursue their legal remedies. It has also ordered interim compensation in both cases.

Gogoi said the High Court had already taken up the matter and urged Jaishankar’s ministry to ensure that the women are traced and brought back to India at the earliest.

The cases raise broader concerns over due process in Assam’s foreigner-determination process, particularly the ability of people declared foreigners to challenge tribunal decisions before being expelled from India.