SC refuses to entertain petition against Assam ‘pushing' back declared foreigners to Bangladesh
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition challenging the Assam government 'pushing' back to Bangladesh persons who have been declared foreigners by the Foreigners Tribunals in the state, Live Law reported.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and SC Sharma was hearing a petition filed by the All BTC Minority Students Union, which claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state was arbitrarily pushing Indian citizens to Bangladesh without following due process under the guise of deporting undocumented migrants.
'Why are you not going to the Gauhati High Court?' PTI quoted the bench as asking advocate Sanjay Hegde, who appeared for the All BTC Minority Students Union. In response, Hegde said that the petition was based on an order passed by the top court earlier.
The advocate also said that the union would withdraw the petition and take recourse before the High Court. The Supreme Court then allowed him to withdraw the petition.
The petition came against the backdrop of a surge in detentions of declared foreigners in Assam since May 23. Families say they have no information on their relatives' whereabouts. Some of them have identified their missing relatives in videos from Bangladesh, alleging they were forcibly sent across the border.
Scroll had earlier reported that a former teacher from Morigaon district, Khairul Islam, whose citizenship case was still being heard in the Supreme Court, had been picked up from the Matia detention centre and forced out along the Bangladesh border near Assam's South Salmara district in the early hours of May 27.
In a video recorded by journalist Mostafuzur Tara from Bangladesh's Rangpur division, Khairul Islam alleged that he was among 14 persons 'pushed' into Bangladesh by India's Border Security Force on the morning of May 27.
Islam and the others were reported to be in no man's land, between the two countries.
Three days later, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma admitted to 'pushing' back persons who were declared foreigners by the Foreigners Tribunals to Bangladesh. Stating that the process to push back foreigners would continue, Sarma claimed that the action was being taken as per the directives issued by the Supreme Court in February.
On February 4, the Supreme Court directed the state government to start the process of deporting foreign nationals being held in the state's detention centres immediately.
It had said that foreign nationals can be deported even without an address. 'You cannot continue to detain them indefinitely...Once they are held to be foreigners, they should be deported immediately.'
Foreigners Tribunals in Assam are quasi-judicial bodies that adjudicate on matters of citizenship. Only those living in the state before March 25, 1971, or their descendants, qualify as Indian citizens in Assam, as per the Assam Accord.
However, these tribunals have been accused of arbitrariness and bias, and of declaring people foreigners on the basis of minor spelling mistakes, a lack of documents or lapses in memory.
In its petition, the All BTC Minority Students Union said that after the February 4 order, the Assam government had 'reportedly launched a sweeping and indiscriminate drive to detain and deport individuals suspected to be foreigners, even in the absence of Foreigners Tribunal declarations, nationality verification, or exhaustion of legal remedies', PTI reported.
Referring to several news reports about persons being 'pushed' into Bangladesh, the petition said that these instances reflected a 'growing pattern of deportations conducted by the Assam Police and administrative machinery through informal 'push back' mechanisms, without any judicial oversight or adherence to the safeguards envisaged by the Constitution of India or this court'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
31 minutes ago
- Mint
Operation Sindhu: India's special flight brings back 280 more Indians from Iran; govt commits to help Nepal, Sri Lanka
With the tensions escalating in the Middle East following the conflict between Israel and Iran, a special flight under Operation Sindhu brought back over 280 Indian nationals on Sunday. According to the details, the Mahan Air flight (W50071A), carrying mostly students and pilgrims, landed at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. Over 200 students from Jammu and Kashmir were among the passengers, while others were pilgrims who had travelled to Iran for Ziarat. After the passengers stepped off the aircraft, many of them held Indian flags and expressed relief and gratitude for the safe return. Earlier on Wednesday, India launched Operation Sindhu to evacuate its citizens from Iran amid the rising tensions between Tehran and Israel. Also on Friday, two Mahan Air flights carrying 1,000 Indian students, including 500 Kashmiris, from Iran's Mashhad landed in Delhi. A third flight also landed on Saturday. In a diplomatic outreach to its neighbours, the Indian Embassy in Iran on Saturday stated that it will help evacuating the Nepalese and Sri Lankan nationals from Iran. After both nations requested India's help in evacuating their citizens, the Indian Embassy agreed to assist Nepal and Sri Lanka. The embassy also released emergency helpline numbers for Nepalese and Sri Lankan nationals stuck in Iran. 'On request of the Governments of Nepal and Sri Lanka, the Indian Embassy's evacuation efforts in Iran will also cover Citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka,' Indian Embassy in Iran posted on X. It added, 'The citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka may urgently reach out to the Embassy, either on the Telegram channel or over the emergency contact numbers. +989010144557; +989128109115; +989128109109' These strikes were targeted at uranium enrichment plants at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Confirming the attacks chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, US Gen Dan Caine, briefed the press stating Operation Midnight Hammer involved 125 US military aircraft including seven B-2 stealth bombers. Following the US strikes, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi calls the US attack on their uclear sites 'unforgivable' and said Iran has 'to respond based on our legitimate right to self-defence'.
Time of India
31 minutes ago
- Time of India
Israel-Iran conflict: PIB debunks claims of US using Indian airspace for Iran strikes; calls them ‘fake'
NEW DELHI: The Press Information Bureau (PIB) on Sunday dismissed social media rumours suggesting that the United States used Indian airspace to carry out airstrikes on Iran during 'Operation Midnight Hammer. ' The government agency categorically stated that these claims are false. 'Several social media accounts have claimed that Indian Airspace was used by the United States to launch aircraft against Iran during Operation Midnight Hammer. This claim is FAKE. Indian Airspace was NOT used by the United States during Operation Midnight Hammer,' PIB said in an official statement. The clarification comes in the wake of multiple online posts alleging that India facilitated the US strikes, which targeted key Iranian nuclear facilities amid escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran. India has maintained a cautious stance in the conflict and has not offered its airspace for any military operations related to the ongoing confrontation between the US, Iran, and Israel.
The Hindu
32 minutes ago
- The Hindu
INS Tamal, India's last imported warship, to be commissioned on July 1
The Indian Navy is all set to commission its latest stealth multi-role frigate INS Tamal on July 1 at Kaliningrad in Russia. This will be the last warship of Indian Navy to have been built outside India and the eighth in the series of Krivak class frigates inducted from Russia over the past two decades. The ceremony will be presided over by Western Naval Commander Vice Admiral Sanjay J. Singh in the presence of several high-ranking Indian and Russian government and defence officials. INS Tamal has been built at Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia, and is the last warship to be inducted from a foreign source, in line with the Government of India's impetus on 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' and 'Make in India' initiatives. India, as part of the broader contract for Tushil class, is also building two similar frigates called the Triput class at Goa Shipyard Limited with transfer of technology and design assistance from the Russian side. By the conclusion of this series of ships, Indian Navy will be operating 10ships with similar capabilities and commonality in equipment, weapon and sensor fit over four different classes. The ship has 26 percent indigenous components, including the BrahMos long range cruise missile for targeting both at sea and land. The vessel has significant upgrades in its arsenal in comparison to its predecessors. The crew, comprising of over 250 personnel have undergone rigorous ashore as well as afloat training in extremely challenging winter conditions of St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad in Russia. INS Tamal has successively completed extensive sea trials undertaken over three months, proving its systems, weapons and sensors. The 125m long, 3900-ton warship, packs a lethal punch as it features an impressive blend of Indian and Russian cutting-edge technologies and best practices in warship construction. The ship's new design provides it with enhanced stealth features and greater stability characteristics. The number of Made-in-India systems have more than doubled to 33. Upon commissioning, INS Tamal will join the 'Sword Arm' of the Indian Navy, the Western Fleet, under the Western Naval Command.
