SC seeks govt data on illegal migration to northeastern states after 1971

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Centre to provide details on how many illegal migrants had entered Assam and other northeastern states after March 25, 1971, and the status of border fencing.

It also directed the Centre and the Assam government to provide the number of Bangladeshi immigrants granted Indian citizenship in Assam between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971, while taking note of pleas that illegal immigration has impacted demography and cultural fabric of the border state.

While hearing as many as 17 petitions to examine the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act relating to illegal immigrants in Assam, a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud passed an order seeking details from the two governments by December 11.

“We are of the considered view that an affidavit be filed before this court by the Centre on or before Monday giving the data on the following aspects:

“1. The number of persons to whom citizenship has been granted under the provisions of Section 6A two namely with reference to the time period of persons who came into Assam between January 1, 1966 and March 25 March 1971,” it said.

The bench, also comprising justices Surya Kant, M M Sundresh, J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, sought details as to how many foreigners have been detected under the Foreigners Tribunals Order 1964 with reference to the above mentioned period.

“The estimated inflow of illegal migrants into India including but not confined to the state of Assam after 26 March 1971,” the bench said in its order.

The authorities will also have to provide information about the total number of foreigners tribunals set up by the union government and the details of cases disposed of and pending before them.

The affidavit shall also indicate the average time taken for the disposal of cases and the number of cases which are pending adjudication before the Gauhati High Court, the order said.

Acknowledging the submissions on the impact of illegal immigration on demographics and the state’s cultural fabric, the bench sought to know the steps taken by the Centre to deal with illegal immigration into the northeastern states, particularly Assam.

The top court also sought information about the steps taken for fencing the border with Bangladesh and the estimated timeline to complete the exercise.

Earlier in the day, the bench asked the Centre why it had singled out Assam and excluded West Bengal from grant of citizenship under Section 6A of the Citizenship Act when the latter shares a much larger border with Bangladesh.

Observing that illegal immigration is a serious problem, the bench asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, about what the central government was doing to safeguard the border.

“Why did you single out Assam when West Bengal shares a much larger border space with Bangladesh? Presumably the extent of migration in West Bengal would be even more significant.

Did we have any cogent data to indicate that the extent of illegal migration in West Bengal was minimal as compared to Assam?

“What was the reason which prompted the Parliament to exclude West Bengal from the grant of citizenship? What led to the peculiar belief that this was the problem in Assam and not West Bengal? Why did we leave West Bengal alone?” it asked.

Section 6A was inserted in the Citizenship Act as a special provision to deal with the citizenship of people covered under the Assam Accord.

It says those who came to Assam on or after January 1, 1966 but before March 25, 1971 from specified territories, including Bangladesh, in accordance with the Citizenship Act amended in 1985, and since then are residents of the northeastern state, must register themselves under section 18 for acquiring Indian citizenship.

As a result, the provision fixes March 25, 1971 as the cut-off date for granting citizenship to Bangladeshi migrants in Assam.