Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court on Friday directed both the Central and Assam governments to furnish explanation on the entire system of identification, declaration and deportation of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants from Assam.
In an order after hearing of a writ petition, the high court also observed that the entire system of detection and deportation has become a mockery and only existed on paper, while action was taken without practical results.
The observation by Justice B K Sharma came after hearing a writ petition filed by one Mohammad Ataur alias Ataur Rahman, who has been on detention for being a suspected illegal immigrant.
After hearing the writ petition, Justice Sharma observed that the petitioner was in a detention camp for last two years but the respondent (government) had been unable to take any action to deport him to Bangladesh.
In the order, the court observed that the question would arise what purpose the establishment of the Foreigners Tribunals served in the state.
It said that on the basis of the orders passed by the Foreigners Tribunals, the state and the Centre were duty bound to deport those declared as illegal immigrants.
But, as per the court’s experience, in most of the cases the persons declared as foreigners did the vanishing act.
In some cases, they were apprehended and kept in detention camps without any follow up action for deportation, the high court observed.
The HC also said that when Bangladesh refused to receive any person deported from India, the state government pushed them back through border check gates.
Such an action was not deportation in the eyes of law as foreign nationals could easily return to the state through the border, it observed, adding that the same exercise of pushing them back to India was also carried out by Bangladesh border guards.
Justice Sharma observed that the disturbing situation meant the central and state governments owed an explanation and could not sit over the matter endlessly.
This would jeopardise the interest and identity of the indigenous people of Assam and also pose security threat to the country, it said, asking the Centre and state to furnish an explanation. November 27 was fixed for further hearing of the case. (PTI)
