Plea In Supreme Court Challenges Assam's “Push-Back Policy”, Alleges Individuals Being Illegally Deported

A writ petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the 'push-back policy' of the Assam Government for tackling infiltration from Bangladesh.As per the petition filed by All BTC Minority Students Association, the State Government is arbitrarily pushing genuine citizens to Bangladesh border without following due process under the guise of deporting illegal migrants.AOR Adeel Ahmad mentioned the writ petition before the bench of CJI BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih for urgent listing.He said, "I have filed a writ petition as well, challenging the pushback policy of Assam, because this entire deportation exercise is being done."The writ petition filed by the All BTC Minority Students Union (ABMSU), contends that there was a grave violation of fundamental rights over the alleged deportation of Indian Citizens "under the guise of implementing the Order dated 04.02.2025 passed by this Hon'ble Court." Notably, on February 4, the bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan directed the State of Assam to immediately initiate the process of deporting 63 declared foreigners, whose nationality was known, and file a status report in two weeks.However, in that case, the nationality of the 63 persons was confirmed to be Bangladeshi by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Government of Bangladesh. The plea states that under the garb of the said Supreme Court order, the "State of Assam has reportedly launched a sweeping and indiscriminate drive to detain and deport individuals suspected to be foreigners, even in the absence of Foreigners Tribunal declarations, nationality verification, or exhaustion of legal remedies."Such a 'Push Back Policy' of the State of Assam, as per the plea, is violative of Articles 14, 21 and 22. It is also contended to be in violation of the decision in In Re: Section 6A of the Citizenship Act 1955, where the Court upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act 1955, which recognised the Assam Accord, by a 4:1 majority.Here, the Court also observed that "No person, whether declared foreigner or suspected to be one, can be deported unless and until such person has had the opportunity to exhaust the remedies available under law, including appeal or review. Deportation cannot be enforced based solely on executive suspicion or extrajudicial communication."The Court further observed that it's important to prevent statelessness in instances where doubts loom upon the nationality of the individual. “In cases of doubt, the presumption must favour the individual, consistent with Article 21 and the doctrine of fairness.” The plea stressed that "Despite these safeguards, individuals are being detained and deported without communication of Foreigners Tribunal orders, without nationality verification by the Ministry of External Affairs, and in many cases, without even being informed of their right to seek review or appeal."What Is Assam's 'Push-Back Policy' The Assam Government has adopted the 'push-back' policy to deal with the issue of infiltration from Bangladesh. As per several news reports relied upon by the petitioner, multiple instances of deportations have been reported, which are being done informally without following due procedure. The policy is presently being executed in the border districts, of Assam including Dhubri, South Salmara and Goalpara. The plea states : "Multiple credible news reports—including from Deccan Herald and Indian Express—document cases such as that of Kahirul Islam, a retired school teacher allegedly “pushed back” into Bangladesh, and of Abu Bakkar Siddik and Akbar Ali, whose families fear they have been deported without due process. These instances reflect a growing pattern of deportations conducted by the Assam Police and administrative machinery through informal “push back” mechanisms, without any judicial oversight or adherence to the safeguards envisaged by the Constitution of India or this Hon'ble Court." The following reliefs are sought by the petitioner : 1) A declaration that deportation without due process—including judicial declaration, MEA verification, and exhaustion of remedies—is unconstitutional;2) A stay on all deportation proceedings carried out against individuals not named in Annexure-II to the affidavit dated 03.02.2025;3) Directions for the Union and State authorities to place the record of such actions before this Hon'ble Court;4) Monitoring and remedial steps through the NHRC and Legal Services Authorities to protect the rights of affected individuals.Case Details : All B.T.C. Minority Students' Union (ABMSU) Kokrajhar, B.T.C. (Assam) v/s Union of India &Anr.

Plea In Supreme Court Challenges Assam's “Push-Back Policy”, Alleges Individuals Being Illegally Deported

Anmol Kaur Bawa

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