'Unscrupulous Elements': Madras HC Directs MHA To Frame Laws Within 3 Months To Ensure Immediate Deportation Of Illegal Immigrants On Completion Of Sentence

The Madras High Court on Monday directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to frame appropriate laws within 3 months with regards to illegal immigrants who repeatedly commit petty offences in order to continue inhabiting within the territorial limits of the country. The Court observed that the Union must ensure that such illegal immigrants are immediately deported back to their country of origin on completion of their sentence. Justice M. Dhandapani observed, "Insofar as petty offences being committed by illegal immigrants repeatedly for the purpose of staying within the territorial limits of the Indian sub-continent is concerned, the 3rd respondent is directed to explore the possibilities of framing appropriate laws to keep the illegal migrants as prisoners within the confines of the detention camps/holding camps by earmarking specific areas within the detention camps/holding camps so that immediately on completion of the sentence by such of those persons, the said individuals could be deported back to their country of birth"The Court further directed the Director General of Police (DGP), Tamil Nadu to create a separate wing in each district to monitor the movement of the foreign nationals within the said district in relation to the report submitted by the concerned jurisdictional police authorities. In the instant case, the Court was adjudicating upon a batch of petitions wherein bail was sought by persons belonging to different nationalities such as Srilankan, Nigerian, Chinese, Iranian and Bangladesh who had either overstayed their visa period or had entered the country vide illegal means. Various criminal complaints had also been lodged against these petitioners for committing petty offences for which they were currently pending trial. The Court reprimanded the practice of repeated offences being committed by these illegal immigrants and accordingly observed, "This Court felt that this is not a case in isolation, where, persons of different nationalities, under the guise of business/employment/tourist enter the country and overstay the visa period, without resorting to have their visa extended and that many forms of crimes are perpetrated by such of those individuals, which shake the economic stability, peace and tranquility of the country, this Court felt that such acts should be nipped in the bud, else the same would have major ramifications, not only to the economic stability, but also to the security of the country and that acts of such individuals casts a serious shadow on the persons doing legitimate business, in the interest and welfare of the nation and its economic stability and also for the purpose of weeding out such unscrupulous elements."On August 16, 2021 the Court had taken on record a comprehensive memo filed by the Centre detailing the total number of foreign nationals, who are overstaying their visa period, as provided by the Foreigners International Check Post data. Furthermore, pursuant to the earlier directions of the Court, the DGP Tamil Nadu had filed a compliance report specifying the list of foreigners who had overstayed beyond their visa period for the period between January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2020. The Court further proceeded to refer to a host of guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs pertaining to the procedure for deportation of foreign nationals and also setting up of detention camps in order to restrict their movement. Furthermore, the Court noted that despite exhaustive guidelines being farmed by the Centre, the State government had failed to take any 'positive action' to identify illegal immigrants and make arrangements for their deportation on an immediate basis. "From the above sequence of communications, it is amply evident that exhaustive guidelines have been framed for identification and deportation of illegal migrants and persons who are overstaying their visa period. But inspite of the exhaustiveness of the said guidelines, still there seems to be 13,289 who have been said to be overstaying their visa period, as provided by the International Check Post. The said number only pertains to the districts of Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore and Madurai. The above number reflects of the enormity of the persons, who are illegally staying in the country without any valid permission and who are to have been deported on the basis of the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. But, there seems to be no positive action coming from the side of the State Government in identifying the foreign nationals, who are staying within the State without holding a valid permission/visa."It was also observed that some of the petitioners had already served their sentence, however they had continued to reside in the country without any valid documents for over a decade. Opining that such acts of illegal immigrants jeopardise national security, the Court observed, "The act of such unscrupulous individuals poses a great risk and threat to the security and sovereignty of the...

'Unscrupulous Elements': Madras HC Directs MHA To Frame Laws Within 3 Months To Ensure Immediate Deportation Of Illegal Immigrants On Completion Of Sentence

Aaratrika Bhaumik

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