GUWAHATI, April 23 - �Fund crunch and poor logistics cannot be excuses for quality of work of the presiding officers of the existing Foreigners� Tribunals, who are on national duty.� This was what two sitting judges of the Gauhati High Court � Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Hrishikesh Roy � opined at the inaugural session of the two-day training programme for the members of Foreigners� Tribunals and Border Police of Assam, which began here today.
The programme was attended by almost all the district Superintendents of Police and senior officials of the Border Police Organisation and the Special Branch.
While Justice Bhuyan felt that fund crunch cannot be a ground for affecting the work of those discharging national duty and something which concerns the nation as a whole, Justice Roy asserted that the issue which the tribunals are dealing with has the potential of stalling the quality of governance and the pace of development as a whole, and so cannot be compromised with.
Justice Bhuyan, while referring to a number of cases and statements made by the Centre in the past, said the gravity of the problem was known way back. He, however, opined that fast disposal of pending cases by the tribunals would be a challenge and some mechanism must be devised.
Both were unanimous in stating that the scope for scrutiny of the decision of the FTs must be explored in a proper manner by approaching the higher courts.
The Director General of Assam Police, Mukesh Sahay also said that the border issue is not just about detecting and deporting immigrants. �It is something that is directly linked with national security and social harmony,� Sahay said.
Chief Secretary of Assam VK Pipersenia also said that the exchange of views during the training programme should yield fruitful results. He urged the Home Department to designate a nodal officer who could coordinate with other stakeholders.
