Month: November 2021

Marium Khatoon v. State of Bihar, CWJ No. 390 of 2020

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Read the judgment here.

Date of decision: 18-08-2021

Court: Patna High Court

Judges: Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice S. Kumar

Summary: The Patna High Court intervened and expedited a matter for repatriation of two Bangladeshi illegal migrants staying in an After Care Home in India. The court conducted an investigation of these Homes and ordered the State Government to set up Detention Centres for such migrants in accordance with Central Government guidelines.

Facts: Two minor Bangladeshi migrants were arrested from the Patna Railway Station and kept in After Care Homes (Nari Niketan) for several years. The two migrants were admittedly illegal migrants who had entered India without valid documents. Their repatriation was still pending. The question to be addressed was about the conditions in which foreign citizens who had been prosecuted, convicted and had completed their sentence, were being kept. The court constituted a committee of three advocates to look into the conditions of the After Care Home in a fair manner. The Committee reported that migrants were being treated well, with no sexual/mental harassment or slavery, appropriate medical assistance, nourishment and tutoring. Meanwhile, the two migrants were deported back to Bangladesh. The amicus argued that such migrants should not be staying in such Homes and instead the State should create a Holding Centre or Detention Centre for migrants arrested in the State of Bihar.

Holding: The court held that such Detention Centre could not be created within the jail and must be created in terms of the instructions given by the Central Government. It is a primary duty of the State to create such Detention Centres. It was also held that it is a duty of the Union of India to respond to the court’s queries, including all its Departments and Ministries. Accordingly, the State eventually took up the setting up of such Detention Centres. The court further asked for details about (a) the time frame for setting up of the Detention Centre, (b) whether the temporary Detention Centre is equipped with the requisite minimum infrastructure stipulated under Chapter-4 of Model Detention Centre/Holding Centres/Camp Manual, 2019, (c) what steps have been taken by the State Government for sensitizing the general population of Bihar about the mechanism of identifying and deporting illegal migrants from Bangladesh, and (d) steps taken to digitalize the records sought to be maintained under Section 6 and Section 7 of the Foreigners’ Act 1946.

The matter currently stands pending and the State Government is yet to reply to the court.

Significance: Both, the judgment as well as the action of the executive here are quite irregular. As has been stated by an advocate of the Calcutta High Court, “Ideally, a legal proceeding should come to a halt as soon as the subject matter of such proceeding is exhausted. In this case, the writ petition ought to have been disposed of as soon as deportation took place, as the fate of all concerned persons was decided.” On the executive’s part, the two migrants were kept in the Nari Niketan, instead of being tried under the Foreigners’ Act. Yet, the court never called this into question. The court’s order is also plagued with several factual inconsistencies, such as there being three and not two women from Bangladesh who had been arrested and placed in the Nari Niketan and that the women had been minors at the time of their arrest. Moreover, the foreigners in question were women who were victims of cross-border human trafficking. In 2015, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between India and Bangladesh on bilateral cooperation on matters concerning the cross-border trafficking of women and children between India and Bangladesh. The MoU sets out the process for repatriation of victims of trafficking, and the language used suggests that trafficked women and children are not to be treated as illegal migrants, but as victims, and repatriated accordingly. The court fails to account for the fact that victims of trafficking are accorded treatment distinct from other categories of foreigners. The fact that the court reached its conclusion despite these inconsistencies shows that the women and their predicament were completely sidelined, and were rather used by the court to make a policy decision about detention centres, in a case instead concerning repatriation of victims of human trafficking.. 

The court’s concern here for human rights violation can be appreciated, especially in the context of the horrible conditions in the Assam Detention Camps. While the Central Government’s Model Detention Centre/Holding Centres/Camp Manual, 2019 lay down some standards for humane treatment of detainees, it has been criticised for being far too ambiguous, putting into question the court’s insistence on establishing these Detention Centres.

Resources:

  1. Neel Madhav How a Trafficked Woman’s Petition Is Being Used to Push for Detention of ‘Illegal Migrants’, The Wire, 3 September 2021.  
  2. Where hope fades and time stands still: Assam’s Detention Camps, Citizens for Justice and Peace, 13 November 2018.
  3. Vijaita Singh, Explained: Indian Home Ministry’s guidelines on migrant camps, The Hindu, 4 August 2019.
  4. Ruhi Tewari, Modi govt sets norms for ‘model’ detention camps to ensure dignity of ‘illegal foreigners’, The Print
  5. Deborah Grey, Ambiguous guidelines for ‘model’ detention camps raise questions, CJP, 28 November 2019.
  6. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, Conditions of Foreign Prisoners, 2 July 2019.
  7. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, Detention Centres in the Country, 24 July 2019.
  8. Sparsh Upadhyay, Deportation Of Illegal Migrants Is Of Paramount Importance, In National Interest: Patna High Court Directs Govt To Sensitize People Of Bihar, LiveLaw, 28 August 2021.

This case note is part of Parichay’s ongoing project to study, track, and publish key propositions and latest developments in citizenship law and adjudication in India. This note was prepared by Farhan Zia.

Suresh Raj v. State, Criminal O.P. No. 5875/2021

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Read the judgement here.

Date of decision: 27.09.2021

Court: High Court of Madras

Judge: Justice M. Dhandapani

Summary: The High Court of Madras rejected the bail petitions of several foreigners who overstayed in or illegally entered India. It also issued several directions to the Ministry of Home Affairs and other authorities to curb and strictly regulate the presence of illegally staying foreign nationals in the country. 

Facts: The Court was hearing a batch of petitions filed by persons of different nationalities such as Srilankan, Nigerian, Chinese, Iranian and Bangladeshi, who had been either overstaying their visa period or had entered the country illegally. They had been arrested for committing various petty offences and subsequently filed bail/anticipatory bail applications before the Court. One of the Petitioners challenged the conditional bail granted by the lower court. The Petitioner argued that the condition to stay at the Trichy Special Refugees Camp was onerous.

Looking into the case of the Petitioners, the Court observed that such cases of illegally staying foreigners are not in isolation and sought data from the authorities on the entry, exit and status of all foreigners staying in and around Coimbatore and Tirupur Districts. The district authorities and DGP submitted status reports accordingly. Further, the FRRO was impleaded by the Court to obtain information that was unavailable with the district authorities. A comprehensive memo was filed by the Centre on behalf of the FRRO detailing the total number of foreign nationals who were overstaying their visa period. Given that the same is illegal, the Court directed the Central Government to file a report as to the mechanism available for identifying the foreign nationals, who are overstaying their visa period and the mechanism that has been devised/available to deport the said foreign nationals back to their country.

Holding: The Court undertook a review of the existing laws and guidelines detailing the procedure issued by the Central government for identification, monitoring and timely deportation of illegally staying and arrested foreign nationals. There are different guidelines for Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals, which involves communication from their respective countries’ consular office or High Commission and confirmation of nationality in all cases. In case of other arrested foreign nationals, they can be deported by the State authorities/FRRO after completion of their sentence and the procedure for the same has to be initiated 3 months prior to their release. Looking into the implementation of these guidelines, the Court observed that “the security of our motherland is being jeopardized due to the lethargic act of the Governmental machinery in not adhering to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs pertaining to deportation/repatriation of the foreign nationals, who stay put in the country without any valid permission/visa.” (paragraph 23). Thus, the Court considered such foreign nationals who illegally stay in India or who find illegal ways to extend their stay as a serious threat to India’s economic stability and security. Referring to the communications and data presented by different authorities, the Court observed that the exhaustive guidelines formed by the MHA for identification and deportation of illegal foreigners are not being followed, and the number of such foreigners has been increasing despite the presence of the guidelines. Consequently, the Court issued directions in this regard to curb the “menace” of illegal immigrants and foreign nationals illegally staying in India for long durations.

It directed inter alia (i) the MHA to frame appropriate laws within 3 months with regards to illegal immigrants who repeatedly commit petty offences in order to continue living in the country, (ii) the state government to set up detentions centres to hold illegal migrants when they are identified by the State law enforcement agency, (iii) the police authorities to establish a separate wing to monitor movement of all foreign nationals, record the entry and exit of all foreign nationals at various levels and spot, identify and deport overstaying foreign nationals, (iv) in case of foreigners who have committed serious offences, take necessary action to ascertain the nationality and complete the deportation formalities of foreign nationals as per MHA guidelines prior to their release so that they could be deported immediately without even moving them to detention centres, (v) the FRRO/ICP to communicate fortnightly, the entry of any foreign national within the State, along with details regarding their visa, passport and nationality and (vi) in case of foreign nationals/illegal immigrants who are serving prison sentence, the concerned authorities to take necessary steps for their deportation three months for prior to their release as per MHA guidelines. The Court adjourned the cases to 4th January 2022 for the authorities to report compliance.

Further, the Court rejected the bail petitions of all the Petitioners on the ground “of the very many grave nature of the allegations against the petitioners and also their status with regard to their stay within the Indian territory without valid permission being put in issue” (paragraph 31). In other words, the Court rejected the bail of the Petitioners on the ground that such foreign nationals posed a risk to the security of the country. With regards to the Petitioner who had challenged the conditional bail ordering him to stay at the Trichy Refugees Camp, the Court refused to interfere in the matter on the basis that MHA guidelines allow authorities to impose such conditions on foreign nationals to restrict and monitor their movement. 

Significance: The order joins a series of others in which directions have been issued on the deportation and detention of the accused or convicted or the overstaying and illegally entered foreign nationals (here, here and here). The directions issued by the Court in this case highlight various concerns regarding the procedure of deportation of foreigners in India. The Court reprimanded the state authorities for not ensuring timely deportation of foreigners and directed the same to be followed. The Court also suggested mandatory detention of foreigners before their deportation and directed authorities to set up more detention centres in this regard. However, there exists no centralised time-bound procedure assisting the states in ensuring that foreigners are timely repatriated. In the absence of proper regulations governing the conditions at detention centres and detention limits, the detainees could be left exposed to several human rights violations and exceedingly long detentions, which can take a form of “coercive confinement” and lack Constitutional protections. Further, the Court’s decision to not interfere with one of the Petitioner’s challenge to the bail condition to stay at the Trichy Refugees Camp shows how extremely wide and unrestrictive powers have been conferred on the executive under the Foreigners Act, 1946 to control and regulate the movement, stay and expulsion of foreigners in India.

The Petitioners were only accused of petty offences like preparing fake Aadhar cards, which the Court referred to as “grave allegations” and referred to such foreign nationals as “unscrupulous elements”. The Court’s observations are underlined with a sense of paranoia that perceives foreigners as security threats and potential criminals which is often used to justify harsher and punitive standards of legal frameworks to deal with foreigners. The Court presumed that all the Petitioners were security threats for the sole reason that they were foreigners, without looking into the merits of the bail applications or the conditions of the Petitioners. Increased patterns of crimmigration are being observed in judicial decisions as courts across India regularly deny bail and impose harsh fines on persons identified as illegal migrants. 

Table of Authorities:

  1. Model Detention Centre, Suo Motu Writ Petition No. 1 of 2019
  2. Prof. Bhim Singh v. Union of India & Ors., 2015 (13) SCC 605
  3. Babul Khan v. State of Karnataka, CRL.P. No. 6578/2019
  4. Bawalkhan Zelanikhan vs B.C. Shah

Resources:

  1. Aaratrika Bhaumik, ‘Unscrupulous Elements: Madras HC Directs MHA To Frame Laws Within 3 Months’, Live Law, 27 September, 2021 
  2. Palak Chaudhari and Madhurima Dhanuka, ‘Strangers to Justice,’ Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2019
  3. Arijit Sen and Leah Varghese, Weaponizing Citizenship in India, Border Criminologies Blog, 19 February 2020
  4. Sujata Ramchandran, The Contours of Crimmigration Control in India, Global Detention Project, 2019 
  5. Darshana Mitra, From Citizen to Criminal: Citizenship Determination in India and the Limits of Due Process, The Leaflet, 27 January 2021
  6. Aman and Roshni Shanker, Identity in Exile, The Hindu, 28 May 2018
  7. Abantee Dutta, Indefinitely Incarcerated: Assam and Its Non-Citizens, Studio Nilima, January 2020

This case note is part of Parichay’s ongoing project to study, track, and publish key propositions and latest developments in citizenship law and adjudication in India.This note was prepared by Dewangi Sharma.

Asor Uddin v. Union of India, WP(C)/6544/2019

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Read the judgment here.

Date of decision: 09.09.2021

Court: Gauhati High Court

Justices: Justice N. Kotiswar Singh and Justice Manish Choudhary

Summary: The Gauhati High Court set aside an ex-parte order by the Foreigners’ Tribunal which declared the petitioner a “foreigner” due to his repeated non-appearance before the tribunal. The court reasoned that there were sufficient reasons which made the petitioner unable to present himself before the tribunal. 

Facts: The petitioner was declared a foreigner by the Foreigner’s Tribunal under Section 2(a) of the Foreigners’ Act, 1946, via an ex-parte order. The petitioner was a poor person and had to travel to Kerala for livelihood. Due to this, he had difficulty readily gathering documents containing his father and grandfather’s names, communicating with his counsel, appearing before the tribunal and filing a written statement. 

Due to his repeated non-appearance and non-filing of written statement, the tribunal passed an ex-parte order, declaring him a foreigner who had entered India from Bangladesh after 25.03.1971. The petitioner approached the Gauhati High Court to set aside the ex-parte order on the grounds mentioned above. The counsel for the Foreigners’ Tribunal argued that in the absence of the procedee, the law allows passing an ex-parte order. Since the petitioner had failed to file a written statement despite several dates given by the tribunal, the order was valid and legal. 

Holding: The court set aside the ex-parte order and directed the petitioner to appear before the Foreigners’ Tribunal for fresh proceedings. It was reasoned that “citizenship, being an important right of a person, ordinarily, should be decided on the basis of merit by considering the material evidences that may be adduced by the person concerned and not by way of default as happened in the present case.” [Para 7] 

The court deemed the reasons for the petitioner’s non-appearance sufficient to be considered by the Tribunal on merits. The court recused itself from deciding on the question of whether the petitioner is a foreigner or not, and instead remanded it to the Foreigners’ Tribunal for reconsideration. The petitioner was also directed to be released on a bail bond of Rs. 5000/- and to submit costs worth Rs. 5000/- to the tribunal. 

Significance: The High Court setting aside the ex-parte order is appreciable, considering the history of the large number of ex-parte orders being pronounced by the Foreigners’ Tribunal. Such orders are common since in many cases, procedees do not receive notice, or discontinue attending the proceedings due to poverty and/or the complexity of the proceedings. In a previous case, a similar ex-parte order was passed by the tribunal where the proceedee’s child appeared before the tribunal without her knowledge, and then proceeded to remain absent for subsequent hearings. 

At the same time, however, the judgment problematizes the exact situations in which cases can be remanded back to the Foreigners’ Tribunal by the High Court. Unlike the above-mentioned case, the court has not found any fault by the tribunal in serving notice or hearing a representative without a thorough checking. The reasoning relied upon by the High Court was that the case is a matter of citizenship, which is the case with all the matters heard by the Foreigners’ Tribunal, and that the petitioners’ reasons for non-appearance seemed sufficient to the court. It remains unclear what is the exact parameter that a court can deem reasons “sufficient” to set aside such an ex-parte order and remand the case back to the tribunal. 

Resources

  1. Abhishek Saha, Explained: How do Foreigners’ Tribunals work?, Indian Express, 9 July 2019.
  2. Gau HC | [Assam NRC] Citizenship is one of the most important rights of a person which shall not be taken away by an ex-parte order; HC remands the matter to the Tribunal for reconsideration, The SCC Online Blog, 22 April 2021.
  3. Shrutika Pandey, Citizenship Is An Essential Right: Gauhati High Court Sets Aside Ex-Parte Order Declaring Man As Foreigner, LiveLaw, 13 September 2021.
  4. Challenging Ex Parte Orders on the Ground of Improper Service of Notice, Parichay – The Blog, 11 February 2021. 
  5. Aman Wadud, Judiciary must re-examine how it has viewed citizenship question in Assam, Indian Express, 24 September 2021. 

This case note is part of Parichay’s ongoing project to study, track, and publish key propositions and latest developments in citizenship law and adjudication in India.This note was prepared by Farhan Zia.

Kabir Uddin v. Union of India, WP(C)/7901/2019

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Date: 02.09.2021

Court: The Gauhati High Court

Justices: Justice N. Kotiswar Singh and Justice Soumitra Saikia

Summary: The Petitioner had been declared a foreigner through an ex parte order of the Foreigners’ Tribunal. The Gauhati High Court set aside the Tribunal’s order due to the improper procedure followed and remanded the matter to the Foreigner’s Tribunal for fresh consideration.

Facts: The Petitioner had shifted from his village many years ago in search of work and had not been in the State. When his name did not appear in the National Register for Citizens, he came to know from the NRC Seva Kendra in Doboka (Hojai District) that the Foreigners’ Tribunal had declared him a foreigner. He had not been served any notice and the process server had pasted the notice in a public place in the village where it was seen by the Gaonburah and others, none of whom had knowledge of the Petitioner.

Holding: The Court held that Order 3(5) of the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 does not permit simply pasting notices in public places as a method of serving notice. While the procedure was unclear on what must be done when a proceedee was not found in the house or village, the Court held that the server ought to submit a report in accordance with Order 3(5)(f) and the Tribunal ought to take necessary steps in accordance with Order 3(5)(j). It was held that the notice could not be deemed to have been served and the ex parte proceeding could not continue. The Tribunal’s order was set aside and the Petitioner was directed to appear before the Tribunal for a fresh hearing of the matter. However, since the nationality of the Petitioner was still uncertain, the Court directed that he would remain on bail upon furnishing a bail bond for Rs. 5,000 with one local surety of the like amount, following the Court’s previous decision. The Court also noted that the Petitioner’s failure to appear before the Tribunal would result in the High Court order being vacated and the revival of the Tribunal order, with the Petitioner being liable for detention and deportation.

Significance: This decision indicates that in the instance that a proceedee’s whereabouts are unknown and their residence is not traceable, the server must report the same to the Tribunal and the onus falls on the Tribunal to take the further steps necessary and that simply pasting notices in public places would not amount to serving notice to the person. In so far as the bail conditions are concerned, the requirement for a local surety within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal in question seems especially problematic in such situations where no one in the village knew the Petitioner and vice versa. Moreover, when the Court speaks about the possibility of the Petitioner’s non-appearance and directs that the High Court order will stand vacated, it is not clear whether the holding regarding pasting of notices in public areas will also stand vacated or not.

Resources:

  1. Parichay Team, Challenging Ex Parte Orders – Special Circumstances, Parichay Blog, 2 November 2020.
  2. Aman Wadud, Judiciary must re-examine how it has viewed citizenship question in Assam, Indian Express, 23 September 2021.

This case note is part of Parichay’s ongoing project to study, track, and publish key propositions and latest developments in citizenship law and adjudication in India. This note was prepared by Aayushmaan Thakur. 

Smt. Sefali Rani Das v. Union of India, WP(C)/206/2018

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Date of the decision: 20.07.2021

Court: Gauhati High Court

Judges: Justice N. Kotiswar Singh and Justice Soumitra Saikia

Summary: The petitioner was declared as a foreigner by an ex parte order of the Foreigners’ Tribunal. The Gauhati High Court remanded the matter to the Foreigners’ Tribunal for reconsideration on the ground that citizenship should be decided on merit, and not by default.  

Facts: The petitioner had appeared before the Foreigners Tribunal 6th, Silchar, after notice was served, filing her written statement along with certain documents. However, she did not get proper legal advice and later failed to appear before the Tribunal on several occasions. As a result, the Tribunal passed an ex parte order against her on 19.9.2017, declaring her a foreigner. Accordingly, the present writ petition was filed, the petitioner pleading that she be permitted to approach the Tribunal again to prove her case as an Indian citizen. 

Holding: The petitioner argued that there was no wilful negligence or disregard on her part about the proceeding as she had duly appeared and filed her written statement. The Gauhati High Court granted the relief, remanding the matter to the Foreigners’ Tribunal for reconsideration. The Court, in its order, stated that “citizenship being a very important right of a person should ordinarily be decided on merit rather than by way of default as has happened in the present case” (paragraph 5).

Significance: The case deals with an ex parte order depriving an individual of their citizenship. It is significant because it reaffirms the importance of citizenship as a right, and that it cannot be taken away without proper consideration of its merits. While the Gauhati HC has also stated in previous orders that citizenship cases should not be determined on an ex parte basis, these orders are decided on a case-to-case basis, and it is unclear whether they indicate a general prohibition on ex parte orders. 

More than 60% of cases are decided ex-parte by Foreigners’ Tribunals. A large number of these orders are because the persons do not receive notices, or stop attending the proceedings midway through. Ex parte orders often affect vulnerable and marginalised persons such as wage labourers, who cannot appear before the Tribunals either due to lack of sound legal advice or because they stand to lose a day’s wage. While Foreigners’ Tribunals have the power to summon and enforce attendance of persons, there currently exists no mechanism to ensure that persons are able to attend hearings, which points to larger structural issues in the functioning of the Tribunals. Although laws like the Legal Services Authorities Act provide free legal aid for marginalised and disadvantaged persons, experiences show that such laws are ineffective in practice, making it difficult for the poor and marginalised to access legal aid.  

Table of Authorities:

Rahima Khatun v. Union of India WP(C)/8284/2019.   

Resources: 

Nupur Thapliyal,Gauhati HC Sets Aside Ex Parte Order Declaring Woman As Foreigner, LiveLaw, 29 July 2021.

Sabrang India, Citizenship Should Ordinarily be Decided on Merit Rather Than by Default: Gauhati HC, Newsclick, 30 July 2021.

Challenging Ex Parte Orders on the Ground of Non-Availability of Legal Aid, Parichay Blog, 9 November 2020.

The Search for Foreigners in Assam – An Analysis of Cases Before a Foreigners’ Tribunal and the High Court, Parichay Blog, 23 June 2021.


This case note is part of Parichay’s ongoing project to study, track, and publish key propositions and latest developments in citizenship law and adjudication in India.This note was prepared by Radhika Dharnia.