The Gauhati High Court has asked the Assam government to disclose the location of two brothers declared as foreigners. Their family fears secret detention and illegal deportation to Bangladesh.
Guwahati, Assam: Today, On May 30, The Gauhati High Court has asked the Assam government to inform the court about the current status and location of two brothers who were earlier declared as foreigners by a Foreigners Tribunal.
This decision by the court came as concerns are increasing about people being picked up without clear reasons and possible illegal deportations to Bangladesh. Officials shared this update on Friday.
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A two-judge bench of the Gauhati High Court, consisting of Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Malasri Nandi, passed the order on Thursday.
The court was hearing a writ petition filed by Torap Ali, the nephew of the two men Abu Bakkar Siddik and Akbar Ali.
According to the petitioner, Torap Ali, the police took his uncles Siddik and Ali into custody on May 25 from Nagarbera police station in Assam’s Kamrup district.
He also said that since that day, the family has not been told anything about where the brothers are or what is happening with them.
The High Court has now fixed June 4 as the next date for hearing the case.
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In his petition, Torap Ali raised serious concerns, saying that his uncles may be sent to Bangladesh without being given the proper chance to defend themselves in court.
He stated:
“illegally pushed into Bangladesh”
and argued that this would go against their rights.
He also told the court that the authorities are not sharing important details about the detention of his uncles.
In response to the petition, the state government’s lawyer, J. Payeng, told the court that Abu Bakkar Siddik and Akbar Ali are now in the custody of the Assam Border Police.
He said that the two were declared as foreigners by a Foreigners Tribunal back in 2017. This happened because they could not show any valid documents proving that they or their ancestors came to India before the cut-off date of March 24, 1971.
This cut-off date was set by the Assam Accord signed in 1985.
After being declared as foreigners, the brothers were sent to the Goalpara detention centre.
They remained there until 2020. In that year, the Supreme Court of India gave a ruling which allowed the release of people who had been held in detention camps for more than two years.
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Based on that order, Siddik and Ali were granted bail and released.
Torap Ali, however, argued that any move to deport his uncles without a final and lawful decision would be against the Constitution of India. He said this would violate their fundamental rights.
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