Assam govt directs 5 illegal immigrants to leave India within 24 hours under ‘forgotten’ 1950 law brought back by Himanta Biswa Sarma govt

After issuing an expulsion order on 19th November against five foreigners, the administration of the Sonitpur district in north-central Assam is looking for them, as confirmed by officials on Thursday (20th November). The absconders were declared as foreigners earlier by a Freigners Tribunal, after which they have been asked to remove themselves from India under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, in what is possibly the first known invocation of the law after the 1950s. The expulsion order issued by Ananda Kumar Das, Sonitpur’s District Commissioner, gave a 24-hour deadline to the foreigners to leave the country, but the foreigners disappeared soon after.

The absconders have been identified as Hanufa, Mariyam Nessa, Fatema, Monowara, and Amjad Ali, all from the Dhobokata village of the district.

“…being a declared foreigner, your presence in India/Assam is detrimental to the interest of the general public and also for the internal security of the State,” the orders read, directing them to remove themselves “from the territory of Assam, India, within 24 hours from receiving this order via the Dhubri/Sribhumi/South Salmara-Mankachar route”. The foreigners are said to have entered India illegally through Bangladesh. “Further, you are intimated that in the event of any default in complying with this order, the government would be compelled to take appropriate action to remove you from the territory of the State of Assam, India, under the provisions of the above Act,” the orders read.

“I am expecting a report from the Superintendent of Police, who visited the location but did not find them. The case will continue until they are found,” the Sonitpur District Commissioner said. He added that the authorities have been asked to delete the names of the declared foreigners, in case they were beneficiaries of government schemes. The case of the five foreigners came up before the Sonitpur Foreigners Tribunal in 2006 based on a report filed by the Assam Police’s Border Wing. The Border Wing is tasked with the identification of the individuals suspected to be foreigners, while the tribunal decides their citizenship status.

What is the Act, and why was it invoked?

The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, was approved for implementation by the Assam Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma earlier this year. In September this year, the Assam Cabinet approved the framing of a standard operating procedure (SOP) under the 1950 Act. While the law was passed in 1950, its implementation was stopped soon after on the orders of PM Jawaharlal Nehru, and the law was ‘forgotten’ since then. However, the Supreme Court last year stated that the law still exists and the govt can use it, after which Himanta Biswa Sarma govt decided to use it, and issued the SOPs for its implementation.

Till now, every suspected illegal immigrants were presented before Foreigners Tribunals operating in Assam, and it takes years, even decades, for Tribunals to decide on individual cases. Many suspected illegals continue to be lodged in various detention centres in Assam due to this delay. But the The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950 empowers the administration to deport illegal immigrants directly and immediately, without the need to approach the tribunals.

CM Sarma said that the SOP largely nullify the role of the Foreigners Tribunal in deciding the status of suspected foreigners. He added that, as per the SOP, if a District Commissioner receives information from the police or any other source that a person is suspected to be an “illegal immigrant”, the official will direct the person to produce evidence of his citizenship within a period of 10 days. “If the District Commissioner finds that the evidence submitted is not satisfactory, he can pass an expulsion order by invoking the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, ordering the removal of the undocumented immigrant from Assam by giving 24 hours and by the route so specified,” the Chief Minister said.

Only the cases that require further scrutiny will be sent to Foreigners Tribunals from now on, while the confirmed illegal immigrants will be deported immediately.

The Act was passed in 1950, at a time when the state was facing migration from East Pakistan (present Bangladesh), just like now. However, it was in force for a short period. After reports that many Bengali Muslims who were originally from Assam were also issued notices to leave Assam, Jawaharlal Nehru ordered CM Gopinath Bordoloi to stop all action under the law. The pact signed by Nehru with Pakistani Liaquat Ali Khan for protection of minorities in each other’s countries was another reason for halting the use of the law. After that, as the law as no longer used, it was gradually forgotten.

It is now being invoked by the Assam government to deport illegal immigrants from the state. The Act provides that if the Central Government is of opinion that the presence of any person or persons who come into Assam from outside is detrimental to the interests of the general public of India or of any section of the public or of any Scheduled Tribe in Assam, the Central Government may direct them to leave Assam, and issue orders to remove them from Assam. While the power has been given to the central government, the Act empowers the central govt to delegate the power to any officer of the central government or any officer of the governments of Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland.