Supreme Court of India · 2005-07-12
Sarbananda Sonowal vs Union Of India & Anr
- Citation / case number
- AIR 2005 SUPREME COURT 2920
- Court
- Supreme Court of India
- Petitioner
- Sarbananda Sonowal
- Respondent
- Union Of India & Anr
- Author
- G.P. Mathur
- Bench
- R.C. Lahoti, G.P. Mathur, P.K. Balasubramanyan
Judgment text excerpt
The Supreme Court ruled that the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983 is unconstitutional as it violates Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law. The Court held that the Act creates an arbitrary distinction between illegal migrants in Assam and other parts of India, undermining the Foreigners Act, 1946. Consequently, the Court declared the IMDT Act and its rules as ultra vires, thereby allowing the Foreigners Act to apply uniformly across Assam.