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The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Assam tells High Court two ‘missing' declared foreigners held at Kokrajhar battalion
GUWAHATI The Assam Government has informed the Gauhati High Court that two brothers, whose whereabouts were not known since their arrest on May 25, are currently lodged at a State police battalion in Kokrajhar district. Abu Bakkar Siddik and Akbar Ali were declared foreigners by a Foreigners' Tribunal (FT) in 2017. Their nephew, Torap Ali of Bhukuradia village in Kamrup district, filed a petition in May seeking information on their status following their arrest. Hearing the matter on Wednesday (June 5, 2025), a Division Bench comprising Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Malasri Nandi granted the petitioner the right to visit his uncles at the battalion. The Bench noted that 'the learned standing counsel for the FT matters submitted that as per instructions received by him, the petitioner's uncles... taken into custody are presently lodged at Holding Centre at 7th Assam Police Battalion, Saraikhola, Kokrajhar.' The Court directed the State government to file an affidavit regarding the apprehension and detention of the two men at the police battalion a day prior to the next date of hearing, scheduled for June 16. The High Court had issued notice to the Assam government on May 29, directing it to provide details about the whereabouts of the two brothers and the 'arbitrary arrest of declared foreigners who are apprehending illegal pushback'. The petitioner claimed that the authorities had not provided any details since May 25, when the brothers were summoned to Nagarbera police station in Kamrup district. The two men were previously detained at the Goalpara district's Matia detention camp in 2017 after being declared foreigners by an FT for failing to establish that they or their ancestors had entered India before the March 24, 1971, cut-off date under the Assam Accord of 1985. They were released on bail in 2020 following a Supreme Court directive permitting the release of declared foreigners detained for more than two years. 'Insofar as the larger issue, namely, deportation of declared foreigners and setting up of additional Foreigners Tribunals in the State of Assam is concerned, upon hearing Mr. Tushar Mehta, learned Solicitor General, appearing for the State of Assam, we are of the view that the State should be given some further time to indicate the progress made on the diplomatic level, etc.,' the Bench said. 'Further, we would require the State to place on record a detailed scheme, in consultation with the Gauhati High Court (on the administrative side), with regard to the constitution of Foreigners Tribunals, including the appointment of members, staff, etc.,' it added.
Indian Express
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Assam family claims 2 men may have been pushed into Bangladesh; HC issues notice to State
The Gauhati High Court on Thursday issued notice to the counsel of the State to obtain instructions on the whereabouts of two residents of Assam's Kamrup district, whose family claims they have no information about them since the Assam police detained them on May 25. The petition was filed on behalf of the two individuals, Abu Bakkar Siddik and Akbar Ali, who had been declared foreigners by the state's Foreigner Tribunals in 2017. The petitioner, Torap Ali, a nephew of the two men, has stated that he apprehends that his uncles 'may be in danger of being pushed illegally into Bangladesh'. The petition states that while being detained on May 25, the two men 'were not given the opportunity to speak to their family members or to approach legal counsel', and adds that 'authorities have been very discreet.' During the hearing on Thursday, J Payang, the counsel representing the police respondents, said that the two men are in the custody of the border police. In the order, the High Court bench of Justices Kalyan Rai Surana and Malasri Nanda issued notice to the respondents, which includes the Union of India, the State of Assam, the Assam police and the district administration, 'to receive instructions on the status of the said two uncles of the petitioners, including where they are currently lodged.' The writ petition seeks the stay of 'arbitrary 'push back'' of the two men and their release on their previous bail. According to the petition, the two men had been placed in detention in Goalpara jail after being declared foreigners in 2017 and had been released on bail in 2020 following directions by the Supreme Court that those in detention for over two years may be released on bail. It also states that the two had approached the High Court against the FT orders, which had been dismissed by the court. The petition argues that the two men 'have not had an opportunity to effectively assail the opinions of the Foreigners Tribunal on merits' and that 'arresting an individual and making arrangements for deportation without allowing them (to) exhaust their legal remedies available under Indian law against the declaration of the Foreigners Tribunals is a gross violation of the fundamental rights of the individual.' It also argues that the Foreigners Tribunals only declare that an individual has not been able to prove they are a citizen of India, and their order does not entail 'positive determination of nationality', which is 'essential to facilitate detention.' 'That pushback before such determination is conclusively made by all forums available to an individual amounts to arbitrary deprivation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India,' the petition states. Senior advocate Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Chaudhury argued for the petitioner on Tuesday. The next hearing has been scheduled for June 4.
The Hindu
29-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Gauhati High Court issues notice in case against arbitrary arrest of declared foreigners
GUWAHATI The Gauhati High Court, on Thursday, issued a notice to the State government in a case against the 'arbitrary arrest of declared foreigners and their illegal pushback'. Declared foreigners are people adjudged as non-citizens by the quasi-judicial Foreigners' Tribunals. The Assam Police's border wing refers such people to these tribunals on suspicion of being foreigners. The case pertains to brothers Abu Bakkar Siddik and Akbar Ali. According to the petitioners, the authorities have refused to provide details about their whereabouts since May 25, the day they were arrested. 'During the hearing today, the State counsel admitted that the brothers have been detained and are in the custody of the border police,' Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury, one of six advocates representing the two detainees, said. The other advocates are Aman Wadud, Dipesh K. Agarwal, Aniket Mishra, Abdul Motin, and Aminur Rahman. The High Court's notice came two days after 14 declared foreigners, including a 51-year-old teacher from central Assam's Morigaon district, were allegedly pushed back into Bangladesh from South Salmara-Mankachar district. The Border Security Force manning the frontier, however, said they were Bangladeshi nationals who were stopped from sneaking into the country illegally. The 14 men and women were reported stranded on the no man's land — a neutral strip on the border between two countries — with the Border Guard Bangladesh refusing to let them in.
