The Assam cabinet on Tuesday approved the standard operating procedure (SOP) for 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 here. ”If the DC or ADC is convinced that the person is a foreigner, the expulsion order will be issued on the 10th day itself,” he said.
The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, is a law enacted by the Indian Parliament to provide the Central Government with the power to remove individuals from Assam whose presence is considered detrimental to the interests of the general public or any Scheduled Tribe. It was passed in response to the influx of illegal immigrants from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) after the Partition and allows for the expulsion of such persons from India or Assam. According to the new SOP, the Deputy Commissioner will issue a notice and provide 10 days to any suspected individual to prove their citizenship. If, after the hearing, the Deputy Commissioner concludes that the person is a foreign national, an immediate order of eviction will be passed.
“The identified foreigner will be evacuated or pushed back from Assam without delay,” Sarma explained. However, in cases where the Deputy Commissioner cannot arrive at a definitive conclusion, the matter will be referred to the Foreigners’ Tribunal for further adjudication. Calling the move “a landmark decision,” Sarma said the process would make it significantly easier for the government to identify and deport illegal foreigners. “Never before has this Act been implemented in such a manner. Now, with the Supreme Court’s mandate, Assam will firmly act to safeguard the rights of its citizens,” he said.
