Deportation of detained foreigners: SC slams Assam govt

The Supreme Court on Thursday slammed the Assam government for proposing to conditionally release the foreigners, who have been languishing in its detention centres for over five years.

A three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the proposed measure showed the government's failure to deport declared foreigners. The top court said it would not be a party to such a move which was illegal and violative of the Constitution.

"You have no right to continue in office after authoring such an affidavit. This court will not be party to such an unheard of arrangement. You have 900 detainees when lakhs of illegal foreigners have already intermingled with the local population," the bench told Chief Secretary Alok Kumar, who was present in the court.

The court pointed out that most of these foreigners were in the voters' list and were taking part in the political system of this country.

The state government had proposed in an affidavit that foreigners, who have completed five years in detention centres, could be released, subject to furnishing a security of Rs 5 lakh, verification of address and collection of their biometrics.

"The stand of the Union government and the State of Assam should be that foreigners detained should be deported as soon as possible. But we do not see that stand," the bench said.

Senior advocate Gaurav Banerjee, acting as amicus curiae, said the assistance of the native nations of these foreigners was required for deportation.