Members in the Lok Sabha in the Parliament, in New Delhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: A new consolidated Bill on immigration and foreigners, which merges four existing laws and seeks to streamline entry, exit and stay in the country among others, was introduced in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, amid the opposition raising questions about the proposed law violating fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.
Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai rejected Opposition contention that Parliament legislative competence to bring the Bill and cited Seventh Schedule of the Constitution and said the proposed law seeks to correct overlapping and duplicate provisions in prevailing laws governing immigration and foreigners in the country.
Rai said tourists are welcome to come to India but it is the government's responsibility to ensure peace and sovereignty of the nation remain intact.
The new Bill proposes to repeal The Passport (Entry into India) Act 1920, The Registration of Foreigners Act 1939, The Foreigners Act 1946 and The Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000. Three of them were enacted in the pre-Constitution period during the "extraordinary times" of the first and second world wars.
"The proposed legislation is being enacted to avoid multiplicity and overlapping of laws on the same or related subject and to comply with the Government of India’s policy of simplification of laws," it said.
Opposing the Bill, senior Congress MP Manish Tewari said the Bill was in violation of fundamental rights on multiple counts and expressed concerns over a provision that could deny entry to a Person of Indian Origin or a foreigner, who is not in sync with the ideology of the ruling dispensation of the day.
He also found fault with the absence of an appeal mechanism for those who are denied entry. Tewari was apprehensive of giving the Immigration Officer "absolute discretion" on allowing entry into India.
Another objection raised by Tewari was over the closure of premises on the ground that it was frequented by foreigners. He said the provision that makes it mandatory for reporting foreign patients and their bystanders was violative of medical ethics and several international covenants.
While Tewari demanded that the Bill be either withdrawn or sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for a "very careful" scrutiny as there are "multiple violations", Trinamool Congress' Saugata Roy claimed that the Bill could prevent inflow of talent from outside in various fields.
The minister said no government could allow free entry of foreigners and no country has a mechanism for appeal when entry is denied.
Referring to reporting of foreign patients, he said the provision is already available under Rules and the government is only putting it in law now.
According to the Bill, a person using or arranging a fake passport may face a jail term of up to seven years while a foreigner overstaying in India may get a lesser jail term of three years as against existing five. It also puts the onus on the carrier to remove a foreigner whose entry has been refused in India.
It also prescribes provisions directing universities and educational institutions admitting any foreigner and hospitals, nursing homes and other medical institutions admitting the foreigners and their attendants to submit their details to Registration Officers.
The carriers landing or embarking at a port or place in the country will have to furnish passenger and crew manifest, advance passenger information and passenger name record information of passengers. A carrier could be penalised up to Rs 50,000 for violating these provisions.
A carrier will have to pay an enhanced fine of Rs 2-5 lakh if it brings any person without required travel documents. At present, the fine is up to Rs one lakh. If it fails to pay the penalty, the carrier is liable to be seized or detained but not sold as prescribed in the existing law. However, the goods in it could be sold to realise the penalty.
The proposed law also puts the onus on the carrier to ensure the removal of a foreigner, whose entry is denied, from the country "without delay". If somebody has already violated rules, the Bill proposes that authorities can direct the carrier within two months to remove the person from the country.
Any person entering India without a valid passport, visa and other travel document could face a jail term between two and five years, or with a fine up to Rs five lakh as against the existing jail term of 2-8 years and a fine.
Those using or supplying fake travel documents could face a jail term between two and seven years and a fine of Rs 1-10 lakh. At present, the punishment is 2-8 years and a fine of Rs 10,000-50,000. A foreigner exceeding stay in India could get a jail term of three years and a fine up to Rs three lakh against existing five years.