Guwahati: The Assam Government informed the Supreme Court of India on Friday, that the government has deported 13 Bangladeshi nationals out of 63 Bangladeshi nationals to Bangladesh.
It states that the authority has been detaining 63 Bangladeshi nationals in Assam’s Matia transit camp. Later the authority deported 13 Bangladeshi nationals and the verification of the others is in progress
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According to LIVE LAW, a bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan recorded this statement from Assam’s affidavit in a case concerning the detention and deportation of foreigners in Assam.
The court on its order recorded that the Assam government has deported 13 Bangladeshi Nationals to Bangladesh. The deportation is based on the order dated 4th February 2025.
On Friday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta further told the Court that verification process of the other detainees is ongoing with the Bangladeshi High Commission.
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The Court directed the Assam government to file another affidavit by April 30, 2025, detailing the status of the NSVs and any further deportations. The court will hear the matter on next on May 6, 2025.
Another key issue before the Court is the fate of individuals whose nationality remains undetermined. The bench had earlier directed the Union of India to explain how it plans to deal with those declared as foreigners by the Foreigners Tribunals but whose nationalities are unknown.
On Friday, the Court granted the center time until the end of April 2025 to submit its response, which the Court will also consider on May 6, 2025.
On February 4, 2025, the Court reprimanded the Assam government for failing to initiate the deportation process for individuals whose nationalities it knew.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the state’s explanation that the detainees’ foreign addresses were not available, Justice Oka remarked that the state could deport such individuals to the capital city of the respective country. He criticized the state’s inaction, emphasizing that indefinite detention without taking further steps was unacceptable.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Shadan Farasat highlighted that authorities had stalled deportations because they only determined that individuals were not Indian citizens, without confirming their actual nationality. Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves further argued that Bangladesh was refusing to accept certain individuals as its citizens, leaving them effectively stateless and in prolonged detention.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta noted that there were categories of individuals: those whose nationality was established and those whose nationality remained uncertain. While the Court noted that there was no difficulty in deporting individuals in the first category, it directed the Union to clarify its approach towards the second category.