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SC Slams Assam Govt for Not Deporting Foreigners

The Supreme Court has criticized the Assam government for delaying the deportation of individuals declared as foreigners, emphasizing that they should be deported immediately regardless of their address. The court's reprimand comes during a hearing concerning 63 of the 270 inmates at a transit camp, with the state government required to expedite the deportation process. The Assam government is now planning to refer these individuals to the Ministry of External Affairs by simply indicating 'Bangladesh' as their address, despite challenges in confirming their nationality.

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7 views23 pages

SC Slams Assam Govt for Not Deporting Foreigners

The Supreme Court has criticized the Assam government for delaying the deportation of individuals declared as foreigners, emphasizing that they should be deported immediately regardless of their address. The court's reprimand comes during a hearing concerning 63 of the 270 inmates at a transit camp, with the state government required to expedite the deportation process. The Assam government is now planning to refer these individuals to the Ministry of External Affairs by simply indicating 'Bangladesh' as their address, despite challenges in confirming their nationality.

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rameshbhai87043
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SC slams Assam govt for not

deporting foreigners

- By Ankit Agrawal
ankitmay28
Playlist
For all my Videos.
WHAT’S HAPPENING?

The SC has reprimanded the Assam government for dragging its heels
over deportation of individuals declared as foreigners.

"Even without an address, you can deport them. You can't continue
to detain them indefinitely...

Once they are held to be foreigners, they should be deported


immediately. You know their citizenship status.

Then how can you wait till their address is received? It is for the other
country to decide where they should go," a bench of justices AS
Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan told Assam's chief secretary.
The hearing in the apex court on Tuesday focused on the status of 63
of the 270 inmates of the Matia “transit camp” – the designated
detention camp for “illegal foreigners” in Assam.

In December, the court had granted the state government time to file
an affidavit explaining the reasons for detaining the 270 individuals
there and the steps taken for their deportation.

On Tuesday, the court rapped the state for not initiating the process of
deporting 63 individuals who have been declared foreigners by
Foreigners Tribunals on the ground that their addresses are unknown.
WHO IS AT THE CAMP?

A break-up of individuals at the camp shows two categories of


“foreigners” among the 270 inmates.

There are 103 Rohingya people, 32 Chin people and an individual from
Senegal who had been referred to sessions courts where they were
sentenced and convicted for violations of the Foreigners Act,
the Citizenship Act and the Passports Act.

These individuals are citizens of other countries, and after completing


their sentences in prisons, they have been placed in the
“transit camp” while awaiting deportation.
The rest of the 133 inmates have been declared “foreigners” by
Foreigners Tribunals in Assam – quasi-judicial bodies that determine
whether or not a person presented before them is an Indian citizen.

The tribunals receive two kinds of cases – those referred to them by


the border police when they suspect someone of being a foreigner and
those related to people listed as “doubtful” voters in electoral rolls.
According to a senior Assam government official, 70 of these 133
declared foreigners have “admitted to being Bangladeshi nationals”
and have shared addresses in Bangladesh.

Another individual has been released on bail.

However, the 63 people who the Supreme Court referred to have


not shared an address.
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES WITH DEPORTATION?

“The process of deportation is a diplomatic issue and a central


government matter.

The role of the state government is limited to referring the matter to


the Ministry of External Affairs,” said an official.

“In all these cases, we have to fill a nationality verification status


report and send it to the MEA, which sends it to the embassy or
high commission of the other country.

Once the embassy tells us that the individual is indeed a national of


that country and the address is correct, we hand them to the BSF,
which takes it up with the paramilitary force of the other country…
In all other cases, we have sent the reports to the MEA, but these 63
people have not divulged an address in Bangladesh, where
we believe they are from,” said the official.

Following the Supreme Court’s reprimand, the state government is


now looking to refer the list of these individuals to the MEA this week
by simply filling in “Bangladesh” as the address, said the official.

Taking note of the ambiguity of the situation, the Supreme Court had
on Tuesday directed the Union government to inform how it plans to
deal with cases wherein the individuals are neither Indian
nationals nor is their citizenship status known.
A lawyer working on citizenship cases in Assam pointed to the
Foreigners Tribunal process and said,

“The only thing a tribunal declares is that the individual is not an


Indian.

But there is no confirmation from any statutory body or the person


themselves that they are from Bangladesh.

They do not have confirmed addresses or know where they are from.

Which raises the question of how they can be deported or to where,


and why the Bangladesh government would accept to
receive them,” said the lawyer.
CONCLUSION

Mehta assured the bench that he would sit with MEA officials and find
a solution since the issue was not a state subject.

The bench directed Assam to start the deportation process


immediately.

The state was also asked to file a detailed affidavit regarding the
nationality verification process, including dates of
actions taken, within two weeks.
Q. Which of the following is NOT a criterion for defining an
illegal immigrant in India?

A) Entering India without valid documents

B) Overstaying beyond the visa period

C) Entering with valid documents but engaging in illegal activities

D) Residing in India for more than 10 years without citizenship


SC slams Assam govt for not
deporting foreigners

- By Ankit Agrawal
ankitmay28

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ankitmay28
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