On Friday, the Supreme Court expressed deep concerns over the prolonged delay in the deportation of illegal Bangladeshi nationals, a process that has been stalled for nearly four decades. During a hearing, Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan highlighted the urgency of resolving the issue, which stems back to the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985.
The Assam Accord, a pivotal agreement between the Union Government, the Assam Government, the All Assam Students Union, and the Assam Gana Sangram Parishad, established March 25, 1971, as the cutoff date for identifying illegal migrants from Bangladesh. Despite this clear timeline, the deportation process has been markedly slow, raising questions and agitations among the local populace.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing both the Central and Assam governments, attributed the delays to the complexities of international diplomacy and the necessity of obtaining acceptance from Bangladesh. “The process is ongoing. Deportation can only proceed once the other country accepts these persons as their citizens,” Mehta explained, noting that Bangladesh had only recently verified the citizenship of 13 individuals, allowing their repatriation.
The court was informed that nationality status verification (NSV) forms for the remaining detainees have been forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs, which is responsible for liaising with Bangladesh to confirm their status.
Acknowledging some progress following the Supreme Court’s order on February 4, the justices ordered the state to submit a new report by April 20, detailing further advancements in the verification and deportation process. They also granted the Centre until the end of April to complete its verification efforts and to develop a policy for handling cases where nationality remains unconfirmed.
The matter, initiated by a petition from Rajubala Das in 2020, also addresses complaints about delays in status determination and poor conditions in detention centers, such as Assam’s Goalpara. The Supreme Court has permitted the Gauhati High Court to proceed with hearing petitions from detainees challenging their foreigner status, some of whom have been granted conditional bail.
During the proceedings, concerns were also raised about the potential misinterpretation of the court’s detention orders, which could affect Rohingya refugees mixed in with the group of 270 detainees. Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing some detainees, stressed that these individuals, fearing genocide in Myanmar, are reluctant to return to their country of origin.
SG Mehta reassured the court that the issue of Rohingya deportations is being handled by another bench, emphasizing India’s stance on the non-obligatory nature of the Refugee Convention.
