New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday strongly criticized Assam’s government To keep people declared as foreigners in detention centers instead of deporting them, asking sarcastically: “Are you waiting for some Muhurat?”
Judges Abhay S oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said deportation should occur immediately after individuals are determined that they are foreigners.
“You have refused to start deportation saying that their addresses are not known. Why should our concern be? Sports to your foreign country? Are you waiting for a bit of Muhurat (auspicious time)?
“Once he declares a foreign person, he must take the next logical step. He cannot stop them until eternity. Article 21 of the Constitution is there. There are many centers of detention of foreigners in Assam. How many has deported?” The bank told the lawyer that appeared for the Assam government.
Upon hearing the case before, the court had indicated that the right to life was not limited to Indian citizens, but extended to all people, including foreign citizens. The court had requested immediate measures to send them back to their respective countries.
The case refers to 270 people currently held in detention centers and transit fields in Assam. Previously, the Apex court had arrested the Assam government for not providing a clear explanation about why these individuals were being arrested instead of being repatriated.
“We had granted six weeks to the State to present an affidavit of compliance. The expectation was that the State would provide reasons to stop 270 foreign citizens in the transit fields and the details of the efforts made towards their deportation, ”the bank had indicated.
The lawyer who represents Assam informed the court that the deportation process implied coordination with the Government of the Union. He explained that the State was responsible for compiling complete details of illegal migrants, including their contact addresses, and sending them to the Ministry of External Affairs, which verifies their identities through diplomatic channels.
Previously, the Supreme Court had ordered the Legal Services Authority of the State of Assam to carry out inspections at the Matia Traffic Camp for foreigners to evaluate the hygiene conditions and food quality.