Assam govt ‘illegally’ deporting people to Bangladesh? SC to hear man’s plea alleging covert deportation

A plea has been filed by 26-year-old man claiming illegal detention of his mother by Assam Police amid widespread allegations of covert deportations to Bangladesh before the Supreme Court. The top court will hear the case on Monday (June 2).

The plea was filed by Yunus Ali, who submitted a habeas corpus petition seeking the production of his mother, Monowara Bewa, reportedly detained unlawfully.

According to the plea, authorities in Assam were allegedly detaining individuals near the border and deporting them to Bangladesh without due process. As per the plea, Bewa was initially summoned to the Dhubri police station for questioning, after which her whereabouts became unknown. Her last known contact was on May 24, raising fears that she may be deported imminently.

Monowara Bewa had previously been declared an illegal foreigner by an Assam Foreigners Tribunal, which also ordered her deportation. The Guwahati High Court upheld this decision. In 2017, Bewa challenged the rulings by filing a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court, which remains pending.

The petitioner argues that his mother cannot be deported while her SLP is under consideration by the apex court.

Bewa had been out on bail since December 12, 2019, following a Supreme Court order that permitted the conditional release of detainees who had spent over three years in Assam’s foreigner detention camps.

The plea stated that when the petitioner visited the police station the next day to inform officials that their case was still under consideration by the Supreme Court, he was denied access to his mother and her release was refused.

The plea states that, "State of Assam has reportedly launched a sweeping and indiscriminate drive to detain and deport individuals suspected to be foreigners, even in the absence of Foreigners Tribunal declarations, nationality verification, or exhaustion of legal remedies.

"Such a 'Push Back Policy' of the State of Assam, as per the plea, is violative of Articles 14, 21 and 22,” reads the plea.

It is also contended to be in violation of the decision in In Re: Section 6A of the Citizenship Act 1955, where the Court upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act 1955, which recognised the Assam Accord, by a 4:1 majority.

The Assam government has adopted the 'push-back' policy to deal with the issue of infiltration from Bangladesh. As per reports relied upon by the petitioner, multiple instances of deportations have been reported, which are being done informally without following due procedure. The policy is presently being executed in the border districts, of Assam including Dhubri, South Salmara and Goalpara.

India