New Delhi: The Supreme Court sharply criticised the Assam government on Tuesday for its failure to deport individuals declared as foreigners, keeping them in detention centres indefinitely.
The bench, consisting of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, questioned why those identified as foreigners weren’t being immediately deported.
“Are you waiting for an auspicious time (muhurta)?” the court asked, expressing frustration over the delay.
The justices emphasised that once someone is declared a foreigner, they must be deported without unnecessary delay.
“You’ve cited not knowing their addresses as a reason for not starting deportation. But why should that concern us? Just deport them to their home countries. Once a person is declared a foreigner, the next logical step is deportation, not indefinite detention. You can’t keep them locked up forever. Article 21 of the Constitution protects their rights,” the bench stated, addressing the Assam government’s counsel.
The court also pointed out that there are numerous foreigner detention centres in Assam, and it questioned how many individuals had actually been deported from these facilities.
In response, the Supreme Court ordered the Assam government to initiate the deportation process for 63 detainees within two weeks and file a compliance report.
The case was being heard regarding the deportation of foreigners and the conditions within Assam’s detention centres.
