THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, Feb 4: The Supreme Court, while hearing a case related to detention centers on Tuesday, reprimanded the Assam government.
A bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan questioned the Assam government, asking why 63 people declared foreigners were kept in detention centers instead of being sent back to their respective countries.
Are you waiting for some ‘muhurat’, asks SC
However, the Assam government claimed in court that the deportation of these individuals was not possible as migrants’ foreign addresses were unknown. Despite this, the two-judge bench of the Supreme Court directed that all of them be sent back within 14 days. Notably, most of the people in detention centers are Bangladeshis and Rohingyas.
“You have refused to start deportation saying their addresses are not known. Why should it be our concern? You deport them to their foreign country. Are you waiting for some ‘muhurat’ (auspicious time)? Even without an address, you can deport them. You can’t continue to detain them indefinitely,” the bench told Assam’s Chief Secretary.
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“Once they are held to be foreigners, they should be deported immediately. You know their citizenship status. Then how can you wait till their address is received? It is for the other country to decide where they should go,” the bench added.
SC seeks Centre’s response, directs Assam to file affidavit
The Supreme Court also instructed the Assam government to submit a comprehensive affidavit within two weeks, outlining the nationality verification process and providing the dates of actions taken.
The bench further instructed the Union government to submit details within a month on those deported so far and to explain the approach for handling stateless individuals.
According to media reports, there are currently seven detention centers in Assam, six of which are inside different jails, while the Matiya Transit Camp is an independent facility. As of January 2025, approximately 270 foreign nationals were detained at the Motiya Transit Camp.
