Guwahati High Court orders creation of nodal authority for declared foreigners

Guwahati (Assam) [India], December 15 : The Guwahati High Court has directed the Chief Secretary to the Government of Assam to constitute a Nodal Authority having inter-departmental jurisdiction, including an arrangement with the Election Commission and the other Departments of the Government of India for a person declared a foreigner to report to or be produced.
On December 13, the court heard a writ petition filed by a person named Kuddus Ali, who challenged the 2017 judgement of the Foreigners' Tribunal of Assam's Barpeta district, declaring him a foreigner.
Justice Achintya Malla Bujor Barua and Justice Robin Phukan dismissed the petition and said in their judgement that "we are of the view that it would be appropriate for the Chief Secretary to the Government of Assam to appoint a nodal authority who may exercise inter-departmental jurisdiction for doing the needful as well as coordinate with the other departments for foreclosing the declared foreigners from retaining any such documents he is no longer entitled to as well as remove him from all such post, position or status to which he would not be entitled any further."
"The appointment and the location where the nodal authorities will be available should be given wide publicity so that a declared foreigner knows exactly where he will have to go to complete the process. If the declared foreigners do not cooperate for such a requirement or merely disappear, appropriate action under the law should be forthwith taken, including taking him to custody for completing the process," said the court judgement.
"If the declared foreigner is required to stay in the State of Assam or in the territory of India, the Aadhaar card, being a document of identity, would have to be retained. It is also stated that if the declared foreigners would have to be subjected to income tax and other taxes, as well as opening bank accounts, etc., the PAN card would be a necessity. In the circumstances, we provide that if certain cards, like the Aadhaar card or PAN card, are a necessity for operating within the country, appropriately modified cards may be issued to the declared foreigners containing the information and the purpose for which they are issued, but such cards shall not under any circumstance be construed to have granted any further rights to the declared foreigner, which may otherwise be available to the citizens, except for the rights and entitlements recognised under the law to be available to a declared foreigner. All such coordination shall also be undertaken by the nodal authority as may be appointed," said the court judgement.
The court judgement also said that "the rights and entitlements to which a declared foreigner will not be entitled if they stay in the State of Assam or any part of the territory of India and the restricted rights and entitlements to which they may be entitled are answered accordingly. The writ petitioner, Kuddus Ali, who is declared to be a foreigner, shall now be subjected to the procedure indicated above and he should immediately report to the Nodal Authority as indicated above. Accordingly, the Chief Secretary to the Government of Assam is directed to forthwith constitute the Nodal Authority having inter-departmental jurisdiction, including an arrangement with the Election Commission and the other Departments of the Government of India, before which the declared foreigner would report to or would be produced."
"The provisions of this order recognising the right to work, right to education, right to shelter, right to food, right to health and right to education will apply to only those declared foreigners who had earlier incorrectly claimed to be Indian citizens and shall not apply to persons involved in any further migration that may take place or have already taken place, in the State of Assam or the territory of India," as per the court judgement.
"Any such other migrants would be subjected to the law dealing with illegal migrants, which may also include deportation. It is stated that in respect of some of the persons who are declared foreigners, even passports have been issued, whereas in respect of others, passports have been issued after being declared foreigners, and these people, by referring to their passports, claim citizenship despite being declared to be foreigners," the judgement said.
"Accordingly, it is provided that in the event a person is declared to be a foreigner, the passport issued would also be void and there would be a requirement of a declared foreigner to return and surrender the passport. The nodal authority shall do the needful to implement the same. The writ petition, accordingly, stands disposed of in the above terms," said the court judgement.