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Informist, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – Pulling up the Assam government for not deporting people declared as foreigners despite knowing their nationality, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the state whether it was waiting for some "muhurat" (auspicious time). The apex court asked the state to immediately start the process of deporting 63 such people kept at detention centres.

 

The court asked the Assam government to submit a status report on the process of deportation of the 63 people within two weeks. It directed the state to submit nationality status verification forms in respect of the remaining persons at the detention centres.

 

The court also asked the Centre to state in what manner cases of persons whose nationality is unknown are to be dealt with. The Centre will also have to place on record the details of declared foreigners who are not Indian nationals, as well as the details of persons who have so far been deported, the court said. Details about the deportation will have to be provided, and the figures have to be disclosed, it added.

 

The court told the state government that it could deport foreign nationals even without knowing their address. "You can't continue to detain them indefinitely," said the court. "Once they are held to be foreigners, they should be deported immediately. You know the status of their citizenship. Then how can you wait till their address is received? It is for the other country to decide where should they go," said a Bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan.

 

On a question by the Assam government that without knowing the address, where should the state deport these foreigners, the top court said, "You deport them to the capital city of the country. Suppose the person is from Pakistan, you know the capital city of Pakistan. How can you keep them detained here saying their foreign address is not known?" 

 

Once a person is declared a foreigner, the state government has to take the next logical step, it said. "You can't detain them forever.  Article 21 (of the Indian Constitution) right is there." 

 

The court questioned the Assam government why it had not given the dates in the affidavit on which nationality verification process forms were sent to the Ministry of External Affairs. "We will issue a perjury notice to you (Assam government). As a state government, you are supposed to come clean," the court said, while directing the state government to file a proper affidavit reporting compliance with its earlier order. 

 

The apex court said that if the state government found that nationality verification forms have been sent to the ministry two months ago, the state would immediately issue a reminder to the external affairs ministry. As soon as such a reminder is received by the ministry, effective action will be taken by it on the basis of nationality status verification, the court said. "On the flip side, the state exchequer is spending on the persons detained for so many years. This concern doesn't seem to be affecting the government," the court said. It will hear the case next on Feb. 25.

 

On Jan. 22, the top court had pulled up the Assam government for not giving any justification for detaining 270 foreign nationals in transit camps and for not providing details of the steps to deport them. The court said that some foreigners have been languishing in transit camps in the state for 10 years or more. 

 

The court was hearing a petition by an individual, Rajubala Das, on the condition of detention centres – renamed 'transit camps' in Assam – where individuals with doubtful citizenship and, hence, deemed foreigners are kept. In May 2024, the apex court had directed the Centre to take immediate steps to deport 17 declared foreigners who were detained in Assam's transit camps, considering no pending cases were registered against them. Earlier, the top court had directed the state to file a comprehensive affidavit, giving the names of persons detained in these camps, documents justifying their detention, and steps taken by the state to deport them.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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