The Centre on Tuesday sought more time from Supreme Court on deportation of around 270 foreigners kept at detention centers in Assam. Appearing before Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said a decision on deporting the identified foreigners was likely by March 21 and the matter is under consideration at the “highest executive levelâ€.
The top court on February 4 slammed the Assam government for keeping persons declared foreigners in detention centers indefinitely and not deporting them saying if it was waiting for “some muhuratâ€. Observing Assam was suppressing facts, the court said once the detainees were identified as foreigners, they ought to be deported immediately.
The top court expressed surprise at the State Government’s explanation that it was not sending nationality verification forms to the Ministry of External Affairs as detainees’ addresses in the foreign country were unknown. Calling it a “defective†affidavit, the top court on January 22 slammed the Assam government for not stipulating reasons for detaining 270 foreigners at the Matia transit camp.
The top court directed Assam State Legal Services Authority to conduct surprise visits at the camp to check on the facility’s hygiene and food quality. The bench was hearing a plea concerning the aspect of deportation and facilities at the detention centres in Assam.
While hearing the matter on May 16, 2024, the apex court said the Centre must take immediate steps for deporting 17 foreigners at the detention centre in Matia and asked to prioritise the deportation of those who had spent more than two years in the camp. The plea further sought a direction to the Assam Government to not detain any person declared a foreigner by the tribunal until it could show proof of a possible deportation in near future.
