SC asks Assam govt about the steps taken to tackle "external aggression"

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Assam government to detail steps taken to tackle "external aggression and internal disturbance caused by large-scale illegal Bangladeshi migrants," which was prominently flagged by the court in its 2005 judgment.

"It has gone too far. It has become a joke," the court said when informed that while some 60,000 foreigners were detected by tribunals, only 900 are in detention.

Interestingly, it was while hearing petition relating to alleged unauthorised detention of foreigners in six centres with "pitiable lodging conditions" when a bench of CJI Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna on Wednesday decided to deal with the larger issue - unabated illegal Bangladeshi migration into Assam.


In the 2005 judgment, the SC had quoted then Assam Governor Lt Gen (rtd) S K Sinha's November 8, 1998, report to the Centre saying that an "unabated influx of illegal migrants of Bangladesh into Assam has led to a perceptible change in the demographic pattern of the state and reduced Assamese people to a minority in their own state".

The 2005 order had come on a plea filed by Sarbananda Sonowal, now Assam chief minister, and Wednesday's query will intensify the focus on the challenge of influx of illegal migrants, already a wedge issue in the state.

"It is a contributory factor behind the outbreak of insurgency in the state and illegal migration not only affects the people of Assam but has more dangerous dimensions of greatly undermining our national security," the report said. It said ISI is active in Bangladesh backing militants in Assam and Muslim extremist outfits have mushroomed.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta on Wednesday informed that the foreigners' tribunals, set up after the SC struck down Illegal Migrants Determination through Tribunal Act, have so far declared nearly 60,000 persons as foreigners but only 900-odd have been detained. "The moment the determination case is referred to the tribunal, persons concerned mostly go missing and merge with the population. That is why majority of the declarations by tribunals are ex parte," he said.

The bench did not take this kindly and questioned the efficacy of the machinery to detect and deport illegal migrants. While asking for details of foreigners detected, detained and deported, it asked the chief secretary to give information on "whether the existing number of foreigners' tribunals were adequate and the precise number of additional tribunals required immediately and in near future". It said all requisite data be provided in an affidavit on or before March 27, the next date of hearing.