Assam invokes 1950 law again, Biswanath orders declared foreigner to leave India within 24 hours

Guwahati, July 5: In a fresh use of the decades-old Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, the Biswanath district administration has directed a declared foreigner to leave India within 24 hours, paving the way for his deportation to Bangladesh.

In an order issued on July 2, Biswanath District Magistrate Karabi Saikia Karan directed Kayam Ansari (Anchari), son of the late Ajit Anchari of Kherbari village in Sonitpur district, to “quit and depart the territory of the State of Assam, India” through the Sribhumi, Dhubri or South Salmara border route within 24 hours of receiving the order.

The action follows a report submitted by the Senior Superintendent of Police (Border), which stated that Ansari had been declared a Bangladeshi national by a Foreigners Tribunal in a 2008 case.

According to the report, Ansari was apprehended on May 28 last year and has since been lodged at the Matia Transit Camp. The Border Police informed the district administration that no case, writ petition or other legal proceeding concerning him was pending before any court, clearing the way for his deportation.

The order warned that if the individual failed to comply, the government would remove him from Assam under the provisions of the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, along with other applicable laws.

The District Magistrate also directed the Senior Superintendent of Police (Border) to complete all necessary formalities and coordinate with the appropriate authorities to execute the deportation.

The 1950 Act, enacted in the aftermath of Partition to deal with the influx of migrants from erstwhile East Pakistan, has rarely been invoked in recent decades. The latest order is among the few instances of its use in Assam.

The first known use of the Act in recent times came in November last year, when the Sonitpur district administration directed five declared foreigners to leave the country within 24 hours.

The border districts of Sribhumi, Dhubri and South Salmara-Mankachar share an international border with Bangladesh and serve as designated routes for such deportations.

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