Supreme Court slams Assam Govt over indefinite detention of foreigners, orders deportation

The Supreme Court on Tuesday strongly criticized the Assam government for keeping declared foreigners in detention centers indefinitely instead of deporting them. The court directed the state to begin deportation within two weeks.

 
Coming down hard on Assam’s handling of foreign detainees, the Supreme Court questioned the indefinite detention of individuals declared as foreigners, calling for their immediate deportation.

• SC bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan reprimanded Assam for delaying deportation, asking, "Are you waiting for some muhurat?"
• The court directed the state to begin deportation of 63 detainees within two weeks and submit a compliance affidavit.

The Assam government cited unknown addresses as a hurdle, but the SC asserted that it cannot detain people indefinitely, citing Article 21 of the Constitution.

With multiple foreigner detention centers in Assam, the SC demanded details on deportations and stressed the need for urgent action.