Supreme Court To Centre: Will You Build A Border Wall

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre whether it wanted to build a border wall like in the US to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country. The apex court also asked the Centre to apprise it about the standard operating procedures (SOP) adopted by the governments in deporting illegal migrants, especially to Bangladesh.

The Centre, however, objected to the petition filed by the West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board alleging detention of Bangla-speaking migrant workers on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals and said no aggrieved parties were present before the court.

Outlining the "same legacy of cultural and linguistic heritage" shared by Bangla- and Punjabi-speaking Indians with the neighbouring countries and speaking the same language but divided by borders, a bench of Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi impleaded the Gujarat government as a party in the matter.

Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said, "This court should not entertain petitions filed by these organisations and associations, which may be supported by some state governments. There are no aggrieved parties before the court. We know how some state governments thrive on illegal immigrants. Demographic changes have become a serious issue."

The bench told Mehta that those aggrieved were perhaps unable to reach the apex court for want of resources.

Referring to advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner board and other NGOs, Mehta said such "public-spirited persons" must help them in approaching the court besides helping people in the US, where the issue over illegal immigration is big.

Justice Bagchi subsequently asked Mehta, "Do you want to build a border wall like in America to prevent illegal immigrants from entering India?"

The S-G replied: "Certainly not, but there are no individual complainants. How can the Union of India reply to the vague allegations made in the petition? Let some individual come saying I am being pushed out. We are trying to ensure immigrants don't eat away at our resources. We can't go by media reports. There are agents who facilitate illegal entry into the country."

Bhushan alleged Bangla-speaking persons are being picked up and forcefully pushed into Bangladesh.

Justice Bagchi said: "There are questions of national security, integrity of the nation and, as you said, preservation of our resources. One needs to remember that at the same time, we have a legacy of common heritage and in (West) Bengal and Punjab, language is the same and borders divide the country. We want the Union to clarify its position on the issue."

"This has very drastic consequences... Sometimes the BSF people say you run to the other side or we will shoot you. Similarly, the Border Guard of Bangladesh also threatens and says if you don't run to the other side, they will shoot," he added.

Referring to the case of a pregnant woman who was pushed into Bangladesh and whose habeas corpus petition is pending before the Calcutta high court, Bhushan sought the interim relief through a direction to states to not forcefully push migrant workers into Bangladesh till an authority decided on their nationality.

Justice Bagchi then underlined a distinction between a person trying to enter the country illegally and those who were within the Indian landmass and said for the ones on the inside, certain procedures needed to be followed.

The bench sought a clarification on the issue, referring to a plea which said people who spoke Bangla are presumed to be foreigners.

Assuring language was not the basis for deportation, Mehta offered to file a reply to the petition and urged the matter to be heard along with the Rohingya case pending in the court.

Justice Kant asked Mehta to file the replies in both cases. Mehta then pointed out most European countries are facing the issue of illegal immigrants and called it "really worrisome".

Concurring with the contention, the top court called it a complicated issue, as some countries welcomed immigrants while others opposed them.

The PIL said migrant workers from West Bengal, predominantly employed in low-income and informal sectors in various states, are facing systemic social exclusion based on linguistic basis, economic insecurity and precarious living conditions.