The Assam Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the removal of foreigners under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The District Commissioner and the Additional District Commissioner of a co-district have been empowered by the Centre under the Act to serve a 10-day notice period to suspected foreigners to provide documents necessary to prove their citizenship, Sarma said at a media briefing.
If the District Comm-issioner (DC) or Additional District Commissioner (ADC) is convinced that the person is a foreigner, the expulsion order will be issued on the 10th day itself,’ he said. This process will bypass the Foreigners’ Tribunals (FTs), and be a much faster and easier way for the Assam Government to push back foreigners, he said. If, however, the official concerned cannot take a ‘prima facie decision and is confused’, the matter will be sent to the Foreigners’ Tribunal, the CM said.
The decision to issue an SOP was taken following an order passed by the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench, headed by Justice Surya Kant, and directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Sarma said, explaining the details of the SOP.
“The State Cabinet has approved the framing of an SOP under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, to guide the DC and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSP) to expel illegal migrants from Assam, and tackle the unabated illegal immigration from neighbouring countries, thereby safeguarding the indigenous populace.
If the DC receives such information from the police or any other source that a person is suspected to be an illegal immigrant, he will direct the person to produce evidence of his citizenship within 10 days. “If the DC finds that the evidence submitted by the suspected illegal immigrant is not sufficient, satisfactory to prove his citizenship of India, he will record his opinion in writing identifying the person to be an illegal immigrant, which shall consist of a concise statement of facts and the findings thereof with reasons,” said the statement issued by the Assam Government.
The DC shall pass an expulsion order under Section 2(a) of the Act of 1950 with the direction to remove the illegal immigrant from Assam by giving 24 hours and by the route so specified by him,” said the Chief Minister, detailing the procedure for removal of an illegal immigrant.
“If the illegal migrant does not remove himself despite the expulsion order, the DC, as per Section 4 of the Act of 1950, with the assistance of the SSP concerned, shall either keep such illegal immigrant in the Holding Centre and or hand him over to the Border Guarding Force nearest to him for expulsion. Illegal immigrants, if detected near the zero line, or within 12 hours from his/her entry into the State, will be pushed back immediately without any further process,” said the statement.