GG News Bureau
Guwahati, 30th May: The Gauhati High Court has directed the Assam government to disclose the whereabouts of two brothers declared as foreigners, amid concerns over arbitrary detentions and the possibility of illegal deportation across the border.
The directive, issued on Thursday by a division bench comprising Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Malasri Nandi, came while hearing a writ petition filed by the brothers’ nephew, Torap Ali. He alleged that his uncles—Abu Bakkar Siddik and Akbar Ali—were detained by Nagarbera police in Kamrup district on May 25, and their family has received no official information since.
The court has listed the matter for further hearing on June 4.
Torap Ali raised fears that his uncles could be “illegally pushed into Bangladesh” without due legal process. He claimed that the authorities have withheld crucial information regarding their detention status.
State counsel J. Payeng told the court that both individuals are currently in the custody of Assam Border Police. Siddik and Ali had been declared foreigners by a Foreigners Tribunal in 2017 for failing to prove their or their ancestors’ presence in India before the March 24, 1971 cut-off date set by the Assam Accord of 1985.
Although the brothers were detained at the Goalpara detention camp, they were granted bail in 2020 following a Supreme Court ruling that allowed the release of detainees held for over two years.
The petitioner contended that deporting the duo without exhausting all legal options would violate their fundamental rights under the Indian Constitution.
Foreigners Tribunals, established under the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964, function primarily in Assam to assess individuals’ citizenship under the Foreigners Act, 1946. The state currently has 100 such tribunals operating in connection with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and related immigration issues.
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