Cannot Deport a Foreign Citizen Unless Home Country Confirms Nationality, MHA Tells Supreme Court
New Delhi: A foreign national cannot be deported unless their home country confirms the nationality and agrees to accept them, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told the Supreme Court on Saturday (August 1) according to a report by Press Trust of India.
The Ministry made the submission in an affidavit to the court, which was hearing a plea challenging the indefinite detention of persons declared foreigners in Assam without prospects of deportation.
“A foreign national whose nationality is unknown/unverified can be deported to their home country only upon confirmation of their nationality/possession of a valid travel document/acceptance by the home country concerned. The deportation procedure cannot be initiated without nationality verification,” PTI quoted the Ministry as saying in the submission.
It said that a foreign national can be deported by the concerned state, Union Territory, or the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) after the sentence or court proceedings are completed, and only if the individual possesses a valid travel document or passport and no other criminal case is pending against them.
“It is necessary to obtain the requisite travel document from the Embassy/High Commission of the country concerned through the process of nationality verification before he/she can be deported,” the PTI report quoted the MHA as saying.
In recent months, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments in states including West Bengal and Tripura have initiated a crackdown on undocumented individuals, terming them as "illegal immigrants".
On June 7, West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari had said that his new government has already sent back nearly 4,800 “illegal immigrants”, and another 836 were held at temporary detention centres. Adhikari has also allotted land to the Border Security Force (BSF) for border fencing across a nearly 100-kilometre stretch.
Last year, in an open letter, a group of activists, lawyers and academics had condemned the detention and alleged expulsion to Bangladesh of a number of people declared foreigners by tribunals in Assam and urged the government to stop such expulsions and allow the return of those sent across the border.
Some of those expelled to Bangladesh reportedly have appeals against their declaration as foreigners pending in the Supreme Court, the letter had noted.