Assam district orders deportation of man declared foreigner

GUWAHATI Less than a week after the Gauhati High Court found a declared foreigner’s citizenship claim documents invalid, the authorities of northeastern Assam’s Biswanath district have ordered the deportation of another.

The July 2 order, issued by District Magistrate Karabi Saikia Karan, said Kayam Ansari has been asked to leave India under the provisions of the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950.

The order was based on a report submitted by the Superintendent of Police (Border), which said that Mr. Ansari, a resident of Kherbari village in the adjoining Sonitpur district, “stands adjudged a foreigner of Bangladeshi nationality” by a Foreigners’ Tribunal (FT) in a 2008 case.

The Assam police’s Border Wing, established in 1962 under the Prevention of Infiltration of Pakistani Scheme, is tasked with detecting and detaining suspected foreigners and referring them to the quasi-judicial FTs. Unique to Assam, the FTs operated under the Foreigners Act of 1946 to determine whether such people were foreigners living illegally in India.

According to the order, no court cases, writ petitions, or other legal proceedings were pending against Mr. Ansari, lodged at the Matia Transit Camp for declared foreigners in western Assam’s Goalpara district since his arrest on May 28, 2025.

Stating that there was no legal impediment to his deportation, the Biswanath district authorities directed Mr. Ansari to leave Assam and proceed to Bangladesh through the Sribhumi, Dhubri, or South Salmara border within 24 hours of receiving the order.

The order warned of “forceful deportation in accordance with the law” if he failed to comply.

Biswanath’s Superintendent of Police (Border) has been directed to complete the deportation process immediately to ensure Mr. Ansari’s transfer to Bangladesh.

The District Election Officer has been instructed to delete Mr. Ansari’s name from the electoral roll if enrolled. The Revenue Department has also been asked to take necessary action regarding his movable and immovable properties.

In 2025, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Assam government began using provisions of the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act to bypass the FTs and “push back” those deemed to be foreigners to Bangladesh.

In June that year, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the 126-member State Assembly that the government had pushed back 303 foreigners and would continue to do so under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act. He also said 35 more such “foreigners” were waiting to be sent back to Bangladesh.

The Chief Minister said the Supreme Court’s October 2024 judgment on Section 6A of the 1955 Citizenship Act gave “sweeping powers to the Assam government” under the 1950 Act dealing with the expulsion of immigrants.

The apex court upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, observing that “there is no legal requirement for the Assam government to always approach the judiciary to identify foreigners”.

The Chief Minister said that the Supreme Court’s observation gave the State government an “infallible” weapon. “By the order of the court, every District Commissioner is empowered to evict anybody he feels is a foreigner,” he said.