The Supreme Court was apprised on Tuesday by the Centre that the deportation of individuals declared as foreigners in Assam is currently under review at the highest levels of the executive. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, indicated that a definitive decision on this matter is expected by March 21.
Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan granted the Centre additional time to document its decision, setting the next hearing for the same date. This development comes after the apex court’s criticism on February 4 of the Assam government’s indefinite detention of declared foreigners without proceeding with their deportation, questioning if the state was waiting for an auspicious moment (“muhurat”) to act.
The court also expressed dissatisfaction with Assam’s handling of nationality verification processes, highlighting that the state had not been sending required forms to the Ministry of External Affairs due to unknown addresses of detainees in their supposed home countries. This led the Supreme Court to label the state’s affidavit as “defective” on January 22, criticizing Assam for not providing valid reasons for detaining 270 foreigners at the Matia transit camp.
Moreover, the Supreme Court directed the Assam State Legal Services Authority to make unannounced visits to the detention camp to assess the conditions of hygiene and food quality, reflecting ongoing concerns about the treatment of detainees.
In a related hearing on May 16, 2024, the court urged the Centre to expedite the deportation of 17 individuals who had been held at the Matia detention center, prioritizing those who had been detained for over two years. The plea also challenged the Assam government’s policy of detaining anyone declared a foreigner by tribunals without clear plans for their imminent deportation.
