GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court on September 9 sought responses from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Assam State Government regarding the deportation process for 211 foreign nationals currently detained in a transit camp in Matia, Goalpara district of Assam.
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The court also requested a report from the Assam Government on findings by the Assam District Legal Services Authority, which revealed that out of the 211 detainees, 66 are from Bangladesh.
The case was heard by a bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih, as part of ongoing proceedings on the conditions of detention centers in Assam. On July 26, the court criticised the poor state of these facilities, calling the situation “deplorable” due to inadequate water supply, poor sanitation, and lack of proper toilets. These observations were based on the report filed by the Assam Legal Services Authority.
Addressing the deportation of the 211 declared foreign nationals, the court emphasised that it must be a collaborative effort between the Union Government and the Assam State Government. This comment followed an affidavit filed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on August 14, which stated that the authority to deport foreign nationals under Section 3 of the Foreigners Act had been delegated to the state government. Justice Oka noted that while the powers may have been delegated, the responsibility remains shared between both governments.
During the hearing, counsel for the Assam Government informed the court that the state would submit an affidavit on the matter. He further mentioned that nationality verification forms for the detainees had been sent to the Ministry of External Affairs in 2019, but the verification report was still pending. The court stressed that the nationality verification process requires diplomatic communication between India and Bangladesh, as the majority of the detainees are believed to be from Bangladesh.
Justice Oka remarked that the report filed by the Legal Services Authority contains specific details on the number of foreign nationals to be deported, and emphasised that both the Union and State Governments must work together to execute the deportations, unless some detainees choose not to return.
Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing the petitioners, criticised the slow pace of deportations, noting that despite the introduction of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) a decade ago, very few deportations have occurred. "In an affidavit filed a few years ago, only six individuals out of 200,000 were deported," he said.
Justice Oka noted that the report indicated some foreign nationals were unwilling to return to their home countries. Gonsalves agreed, stating that many had contested their classification as foreign nationals by the tribunals and expressed a desire not to return. He added that while a small number might be willing to return, a much larger group of detainees – estimated at over 900,000 – have been declared foreign nationals.
ASG KM Natraj, representing the Union Government, affirmed that all illegal immigrants would eventually be deported from India, stressing that the government remains committed to this objective.
In a previous hearing on May 16, the court had ordered the immediate deportation of 17 foreign nationals, four of whom had been detained for over seven years.
