Assam Approves SOP To Expel ‘Foreigners’ Without Tribunal, 10-Day Notice To Prove Citizenship

Last Updated:September 10, 2025, 07:55 IST

Under new mechanism, once a person is identified as an illegal immigrant, the official concerned will issue a written order citing reasons and direct the individual to leave Assam

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma (PTI File)

The Assam cabinet on Tuesday approved a new standard operating procedure (SOP) under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, empowering district commissioners and additional district commissioners to issue expulsion orders against suspected foreigners without referring their cases to Foreigners’ Tribunals.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the process will allow authorities to act swiftly against illegal immigrants, who will now be given ten days to produce documents proving their Indian citizenship. If the officer finds the evidence unsatisfactory, an expulsion order will be issued on the tenth day itself.

“This is a much faster and easier way for the Assam government to push back foreigners," Sarma said at a press briefing in Guwahati. He explained that the new SOP, framed on the basis of directions from the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench led by Justice Surya Kant and subsequent orders from the Ministry of Home Affairs, gives district commissioners and senior superintendents of police the authority to act directly. If, however, an officer cannot take a clear decision, the case will still be sent to the Foreigners’ Tribunal for adjudication.

Under the new mechanism, once a person is identified as an illegal immigrant, the official concerned will issue a written order citing reasons and direct the individual to leave Assam within 24 hours. Their biometric and demographic details will also be recorded on the Foreigners Identification Portal.

If the individual refuses to comply, they may be sent to holding centres or handed over to border security forces. Illegal migrants caught within twelve hours of crossing into the state or near the zero line will be pushed back immediately, Sarma said. He added that once a person is declared a foreigner, their name will be struck off the electoral rolls and their property seized.

The chief minister clarified that the nearly 82,000 cases already pending before Foreigners’ Tribunals will not be affected by the SOP and will continue under the existing process. He also blamed the Congress for setting up the tribunal system after the Supreme Court struck down the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act in 2005, following a petition by then AGP MP and now Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal. Sarma claimed that 30,128 foreigners have been pushed back so far, and on average 30 to 40 people are sent back every week.

The cabinet meeting also cleared several other measures, including financial aid of Rs 5 crore for flood-hit Himachal Pradesh under the Chief Minister’s Scheme for Public Emergency. It approved the correction of pay anomalies for 20 physiotherapists, speech therapists, accountants and cashiers at Jorhat Medical College and Hospital. Additionally, it passed an amendment to the Assam Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, aimed at aligning it with the state’s agricultural marketing system and improving market access for small and marginal farmers.

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