GUWAHATI, Aug 6 � Taking exception to illegal Bangladeshis re-entering the State even after their �deportation� to the country, the Gauhati High Court has pulled up the State and Union Governments saying that the entire machinery of deportation has been a farce and no useful purpose served in establishing the Foreigners� Tribunals.
�The entire machinery, including the Foreigners� Tribunals, are mere mockery and no useful purpose has been served in establishing the Foreigners� Tribunals and spending crores of rupees in the name of detection and deportation of foreign nationals,� Justice BK Sharma observed in the court order dated August 5, 2010, while dealing with a writ petition filed by a �deported� Bangladeshi national, Md Attaur Rahman.
The petitioner in his petition stated that he was released by police in a deep jungle along the Indo-Bangladesh border near Karimganj on the night of November 20, 2008 after his arrest on November 14.
Expressing shock at the �manner and method in which deported Bangladeshis could come back to India and invoke the writ jurisdiction,� the court made clear its displeasure with the State and Central Governments for their failure to deal with the queries raised by the court in its earlier order (dated May 19, 2010) in connection with the same case.
The court has asked both the Union and the State Governments to file fresh affidavits clearing their stands on or before August 26 next on which date the matter would again come up before the court.
�If the Union and State Governments are unperturbed in respect of the magnitude of the problem being faced by the State of Assam from unabated illegal influx of foreign nationals (Bangladeshi nationals), they should say so by filing affidavit. In the affidavits, both the Governments will clarify the queries made in the order and also as to whether any useful purpose has been served in establishing and continuance of the proceedings by the Foreigners� Tribunals,� the order read, referring to the fact that deported Bangladeshis can �merrily come back to Assam even to the extent of invoking writ jurisdiction of this court.�
Noting that there were contradictions in the stand of the respondents, i.e., the two Governments, the court said that either the petitioner �has once again re-entered India from Bangladesh or the respondents did not deport him to Bangladesh, as has been claimed in the aforesaid letter dated February 2, 2009.�
On the earlier affidavit filed by the Home Ministry, the court observed that it evaded the most important matter about the alleged release of the petitioner by police in a deep jungle on the Indo-Bangladesh border.
�The affidavit does not deal with the most important aspect of the matter which is, as alleged by the petitioner, that he was released by the police in a deep jungle on the Indo-Bangladesh border, and after staying the night in the jungle, he came back to his place of residence,� the court observed, adding that the affidavit only stated about the delegation of power to the State Government for obtaining fingerprints and photographs of foreigners and the purported measures taken to check illegal migration.
