Assam Cabinet Approves SOP to Use 1950 Law to Oust Illegal Migrants Without Court Order

Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma here on Tuesday said that his cabinet has approved a Special Operation Procedure (SOP) to use a 75-year-old previously overlooked law- the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, to push back illegal migrants from the state without any judicial intervention immediately after their identification.

Referring that a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, while hearing a case on Section 6A of the Citizenship Act (October, 2024), had said there is no legal requirement for the Assam government to always approach the judiciary to identify foreigners, Mr Sarma told reporters that the SOP which will be notified in a day or two will nominate deputy commissioners as nodal officer to take decision on identifying and deporting the foreigners who entered Assam after 1971.

Claiming that 30128 foreigners have so far been pushed back to Bangladesh from Assam, the chief minister said that the SOP approved for identification and deportation of foreigners would be applicable even on those whose names has found place in updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) too.

Indicating that Assam government is going to intensify the identification and pushing back of foreigners from the state, the chief minister referred to the five-member Constitution Bench headed by then Chief Justice DY Chandrachud on October 17, 2024, which upheld the validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act in a 4:1 majority, with Justice JB Pardiwala giving the sole dissenting opinion.

Justices Surya Kant, MM Sundresh and Manoj Misra in their joint order said that the provisions of the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, "shall be effectively employed for the purpose of identification of illegal immigrants." They noted that the IEAA grants "Central Government the power to direct the removal of immigrants who are detrimental to the interests of India."

Mr Sarma said that in case a deputy commissioner fails to take a decision on the actual identity of a suspected foreigner, he may refer the case to the foreigners tribunal.