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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday expanded the ambit of the proceedings to address the issue of illegal migration and make India’s north-eastern borders impregnable. It directed the Centre to file an affidavit on the magnitude of the problem facing the country and remedial measures it is taking and proposes to take to stop migration from Bangladesh and also on the issue of deportation of such migrants.
The intervention expanding the scope of the challenge to Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, which accords legality to migrants who entered the country till March 25, 1971, has trained the spotlight on the resentment of the original inhabitants of Assam after being overwhelmed in their own land. Importantly, it is the second time that the SC has stepped up to the issue that sparked a mass agitation against outsiders in Assam.
Former CJI Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who made the push for the implementation of the Assam NRC through judicial orders as a SC judge and monitored the implementation as CJI, tore into the Assam government in 2019 for its move on illegal immigrants to conditionally release and monitor declared foreigners languishing in its detention centres for over five years. Gogoi had said that measure reflected the government’s failure to deport declared foreigners.
The court’s concern over illegal infiltration, who now constitute the overwhelming majority in many parts of Assam, became evident when it saw that the data submitted pertained to 2014 and granted time till December 11 to the Centre to submit fresh numbers.
The court asked the Centre to give estimated figure of the inflow of illegal migrants to India from the north-eastern border including Assam after March 25, 1971 and the steps taken by the Centre to deal with illegal immigration into India, particularly in Assam. It also sought details on the extent of border fencing on the north-eastern front and steps it is intending to take with estimated timelines to complete border fencing.
The SC said the affidavit should mention the number of persons to whom citizenship has been granted under provisions of Section 6A; those who came into Assam between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971; and how many persons have been detected to be foreigners under the Foreigners’ Tribunals Order 1964 with reference to the above period. The Centre has been directed to brief the court about the total number of foreigners’ tribunal set by it, number of cases disposed of and number of cases still pending.
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The intervention expanding the scope of the challenge to Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, which accords legality to migrants who entered the country till March 25, 1971, has trained the spotlight on the resentment of the original inhabitants of Assam after being overwhelmed in their own land. Importantly, it is the second time that the SC has stepped up to the issue that sparked a mass agitation against outsiders in Assam.
Former CJI Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who made the push for the implementation of the Assam NRC through judicial orders as a SC judge and monitored the implementation as CJI, tore into the Assam government in 2019 for its move on illegal immigrants to conditionally release and monitor declared foreigners languishing in its detention centres for over five years. Gogoi had said that measure reflected the government’s failure to deport declared foreigners.
The court’s concern over illegal infiltration, who now constitute the overwhelming majority in many parts of Assam, became evident when it saw that the data submitted pertained to 2014 and granted time till December 11 to the Centre to submit fresh numbers.
The court asked the Centre to give estimated figure of the inflow of illegal migrants to India from the north-eastern border including Assam after March 25, 1971 and the steps taken by the Centre to deal with illegal immigration into India, particularly in Assam. It also sought details on the extent of border fencing on the north-eastern front and steps it is intending to take with estimated timelines to complete border fencing.
The SC said the affidavit should mention the number of persons to whom citizenship has been granted under provisions of Section 6A; those who came into Assam between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971; and how many persons have been detected to be foreigners under the Foreigners’ Tribunals Order 1964 with reference to the above period. The Centre has been directed to brief the court about the total number of foreigners’ tribunal set by it, number of cases disposed of and number of cases still pending.
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