Latest news with #NRC-related
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First Post
8 hours ago
- Politics
- First Post
Assam govt to invoke a forgotten law to identify and expel illegal migrants
The government of Assam is all set to revive a 75-year-old law that enables the state authorities to push back illegal immigrants upon identification without the need to approach the judiciary every time read more The Assam government is working on reviving the use of a 75-year-old previously overlooked law in a bid to push back illegal immigrants from the state. As per the law, the state will be able to remove illegal migrants without any form of judicial intervention and immediately after their identification. On Saturday, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma noted that a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, while hearing a case on Section 6A of the Citizenship Act (October 2024), had maintained that there is no legal requirement for the Assam government to always approach the judiciary in regards to illegal immigrants, The Times of India reported. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'There is an old law called the Immigrants Expulsion Order (1950), and during a hearing on Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court said this Act is still valid. Under its provisions, even a district commissioner can issue an order for immediate pushback of illegal immigrants,' the Assam CM said on Saturday. 'For whatever reason, our lawyers had not informed us about this, and we weren't aware of it either,' Sarma added. He revealed that in the past few days, the entire matter has come to light, and the state government will now discuss it seriously. The process of identifying foreigners will be sped up: Assam CM The Assam CM noted that the process of identifying illegal immigrants and pushing them back from the state will be sped up now that the government is aware of the law. 'The process of identifying foreigners, which had paused due to NRC-related matters , will now be sped up a bit,' he said. 'This time, if someone is identified as a foreigner, we don't send them to a tribunal. We will straightaway push them back. Preparations for this have been ongoing over the last few days,' he added. Sarma also maintained that those who have moved courts will not be pushed back for now. In his statement, Sarma was referring to the five-member Constitution Bench headed by then Chief Justice DY Chandrachud . On October 17, 2024, the bench upheld the validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act in a 4:1 majority, with Justice JB Pardiwala giving the sole dissenting opinion. In their joint order, Justices Surya Kant, MM Sundresh and Manoj Misra said that the provisions of the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, 'shall be effectively employed for identification of illegal immigrants.' About the 1950 law The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950 (IEAA) empowers the central government to order the expulsion of any person or class of persons who came into Assam from outside India, either before or after the commencement of the Act. The act can be implemented to deal with someone who stays in Assam and is detrimental to the interests of the general public of India or any Scheduled Tribe in Assam. The constitutional bench also noted that the IEAA granted 'the Central Government the power to direct the removal of immigrants who are detrimental to the interests of India.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'If there is any other piece of legislation, such as the IEAA, under which the status of an immigrant can be determined, we see no reason why such statutory detection shall not also be given effect to, for deportation. We thus hold that the provisions of IEAA shall also be read into Section 6A and be applied along with the Foreigners Act, 1946, for detection and deportation of foreigners,' the judges stated in their order. It is pertinent to note that the law was enacted even before the immigrants from West and East Pakistan were considered foreigners under the Foreigners Act . According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons, the Act was enacted to deal with the large-scale immigration of migrants from East Bengal to Assam.
Hindustan Times
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Exploring old law allowing ‘push back': Sarma
The Assam government is looking into the details of 'an old law' that will allow it to 'push back' infiltrators without having to mandatorily approach foreigners tribunals, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Nalbari, Sarma said that a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, while hearing a case on Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, had said that there is no legal requirement for the Assam government to always approach the judiciary in order to identify foreigners. 'There exists an immigrants expel order, which is an old law. The Supreme Court has said that this law is in force and a deputy commissioner can give permission for immediate pushback under it,' he maintained. 'For whatever reason, our lawyers had not informed us and we too didn't know about it. The entire matter has come to light in the last few days. We will now discuss it further,' he added. The chief minister said pushing back illegal migrants will continue, adding that the process of identifying foreigners, which had been paused due to NRC-related matters, will now be accelerated. 'And when the identification of a foreigner happens, there will be no need to send the case to any tribunal. We will directly push them back. We have been preparing for it,' he added. Sarma said the process of pushback will continue, though no person with a case pending before the court will be sent back. His comments came even as the state witnessed protests over 'harassment' of minorities in the name of detecting illegal immigrants. Members and supporters of the All Assam Minority Students' Union (AAMSU) wore black badges and displayed placards against the purported recent pushback of Bangladeshis in the state. They carried out the protest in different parts, including Chirang and Jogighopa, after Eid namaz.
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Himanta says drive to identify foreigners to be 'accelerated'; AAMSU protests 'harassment'
Guwahati, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday asserted that the process of identifying illegal foreigners, which was "paused" due to NRC-related matters, will be accelerated, even as protests were witnessed in different parts of the state during Eid prayers on Saturday over "pushback" and "harassment" of minorities in the name of detecting illegal immigrants. Sarma maintained that the state government was looking into the details of an old law, which allows it to "push back" the declared infiltrators without having to mandatorily approach the judiciary. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Nalbari, Sarma said that a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, while hearing a case on Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, had said that there is no legal requirement for the Assam government to always approach the judiciary in order to identify foreigners. "There exists an immigrants expel order, which is an old law. The Supreme Court has said that this law is in force and a deputy commissioner can give permission for immediate pushback under it," he maintained. "For whatever reason, our lawyers had not informed us and we too didn't know about it. The entire matter has come to light in the last few days. We will now discuss it further," he added. The chief minister said pushing back illegal migrants will continue, adding that the process of identifying foreigners, which had been paused due to NRC-related matters, will now be accelerated. "And when the identification of a foreigner happens, there will be no need to send the case to any tribunal. We will directly push them back. We have been preparing for it," he added. Sarma said the process of pushback will continue, though no person with a case pending before the court will be sent back. Meanwhile, members and supporters of the All Assam Minority Students' Union wore black badges and displayed placards against the purported recent pushback of Bangladeshis in the state. They carried out the protest in different parts, including Chirang and Jogighopa, after Eid namaz. AAMSU president Rejaul Karim Sarkar maintained that more intensified protests will be carried out if the government does not stop "harassment" of genuine citizens. "We have seen cases where the entire family is Indian but one member is taken away as an illegal foreigner. Such acts are against humanity. The government should stop harassment of genuine citizens, else we will carry out more agitations in a democratic manner," he said.
