A bench consisting of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan directed the Assam government to immediately deport 63 individuals currently held in detention centers after being declared foreigners under the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise.
NEW DELHI: Today, 4th Feb, The Supreme Court strongly criticized the Assam government for not deporting people who have already been declared as foreigners. The court questioned whether the state was waiting for a “muhurat” (auspicious time) to take action.
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A bench consisting of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan directed the Assam government to immediately deport 63 individuals currently held in detention centers after being declared foreigners under the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise.
The Assam government argued that they did not know the addresses of these foreigners in their home country. However, the court was not convinced.
Justice Oka accused the Assam government of hiding facts, stating, “We will issue a perjury notice to you. You are supposed to come clean.”
When the state’s counsel denied any intention to hide information, Justice Oka responded, “Of course, there is. Why have you not given the dates on which verification took place? The affidavit is defective.”
Justice Bhuyan also criticized the delay, pointing out that detaining people indefinitely violates Article 21 of the Constitution.
He asked, “Once you declare a person as a foreigner, you must take the next logical step. You can’t detain them forever. Article 21 is there. There are many foreigner detention centres in Assam. How many have you deported?”
The Supreme Court emphasized that Assam must deport foreigners even without knowing their exact addresses. The Chief Secretary of Assam was present virtually during the hearing.
The court told him, “Even without an address, you can deport them. You can’t continue to detain them indefinitely… Once they are held to be foreigners, they should be deported immediately. You know their citizenship status. Then how can you wait till their address is received? It is for the other country to decide where they should go.”
When Assam’s counsel asked where these individuals should be sent without an address, Justice Oka firmly replied,
“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? Why have you not mentioned the date on which the verification was sent to the MEA?”
As the state’s counsel struggled to answer, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta intervened.
He assured the court, “I can assure your lordships, I have spoken to the highest authority of the executive. There may be some lacunae, my apologies.”
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The court was displeased that Assam had not revealed the complete facts. Mehta promised to discuss the matter with the concerned officials and submit all necessary documents.
Justice Oka observed, “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.”
Mehta assured the court that he would coordinate with the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to find a diplomatic solution since this issue falls under the Centre’s jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court directed the Assam government to begin the deportation process immediately, even without foreign addresses. The court also ordered Assam to file a detailed affidavit within two weeks, outlining the steps taken for nationality verification along with specific dates.
Additionally, the Central government has been given a month to explain how stateless individuals should be handled.
Furthermore, the court instructed Assam to improve conditions in detention centers and set up a committee to inspect these facilities every two weeks.
The next hearing on this matter is scheduled for February 25.
CASE TITLE:
Rajubala v. Union of India
