Gauhati High Court issues notice in case against arbitrary arrest of declared foreigners

Gauhati High Court. | Photo Credit: The Hindu

GUWAHATI

The Gauhati High Court, on Thursday, issued a notice to the State government in a case against the “arbitrary arrest of declared foreigners and their illegal pushback”.

Declared foreigners are people adjudged as non-citizens by the quasi-judicial Foreigners’ Tribunals. The Assam Police’s border wing refers such people to these tribunals on suspicion of being foreigners.

The case pertains to brothers Abu Bakkar Siddik and Akbar Ali. According to the petitioners, the authorities have refused to provide details about their whereabouts since May 25, the day they were arrested.

“During the hearing today, the State counsel admitted that the brothers have been detained and are in the custody of the border police,” Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury, one of six advocates representing the two detainees, said.

The other advocates are Aman Wadud, Dipesh K. Agarwal, Aniket Mishra, Abdul Motin, and Aminur Rahman.

The High Court’s notice came two days after 14 declared foreigners, including a 51-year-old teacher from central Assam’s Morigaon district, were allegedly pushed back into Bangladesh from South Salmara-Mankachar district.

The Border Security Force manning the frontier, however, said they were Bangladeshi nationals who were stopped from sneaking into the country illegally.

The 14 men and women were reported stranded on the no man’s land — a neutral strip on the border between two countries — with the Border Guard Bangladesh refusing to let them in.

Published - May 29, 2025 09:03 pm IST