Background:

On July 5, the Assam government asked the Border wing of the State’s police not to forward cases of non-Muslims who entered India illegally before 2014 to the Foreigners Tribunals (FTs).

This was in keeping with the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 that provides a citizenship application window for non-Muslims — Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Jains, and Buddhists — who allegedly fled persecution in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• About Foreign Tribunal (Objective, Composition, Powers, etc.)
• Role of Border Police in Enforcing FT Laws
• About the Recent Controversy

About Foreign Tribunal:

• Foreign Tribunals (FTs) are quasi-judicial bodies established through the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order of 1964, under Section 3 of the Foreigners’ Act of 1946.
• These tribunals allow local authorities in a state to refer individuals suspected of being foreigners for further examination.
• Currently, FTs are exclusive to Assam, while other states handle cases of "illegal immigrants" according to the Foreigners’ Act.
• Composition of an FT:
  • Each FT is led by a member who is a judge, advocate, or civil servant with judicial experience.
• In 2021, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed Parliament that Assam has 300 FTs.
  • However, the State’s Home and Political Department website indicates that only 100 FTs are currently operational.

Powers of Foreign Tribunal:

• Under the 1964 order, Foreign Tribunals (FTs) have similar powers to civil courts.
• They can summon people, enforce attendance, examine individuals under oath, and request documents.
• When a person is suspected of being a foreigner, the tribunal must serve a notice in English or the state's official language within 10 days of receiving the case.
• The person then has 10 days to respond and another 10 days to present evidence supporting their claim of citizenship.
• The FT must resolve the case within 60 days.
• If the person cannot prove their citizenship, the tribunal can send them to a detention center, now called a transit camp, for eventual deportation.

Role of Assam Police Border Organisation:

• The Assam Police Border Organisation was initially formed in 1962 as part of the State police’s Special Branch under the Prevention of Infiltration of Pakistani (PIP) scheme.
• It became an independent wing in 1974 and is now led by the Special Director General of Police (Border).
• Following Bangladesh's liberation war, the PIP scheme was renamed the Prevention of Infiltration of Foreigners (PIF) scheme.
• The Central government has sanctioned 3,153 of the 4,037 personnel posts in this wing under the PIF scheme, with the remaining 884 posts sanctioned by the Assam government.
• This wing is responsible for:
  • Detecting and deporting illegal foreigners,
  • Patrolling the India-Bangladesh border alongside the Border Security Force,
  • Maintaining a secondary line of defense to prevent illegal entry, and
  • Monitoring people living in riverine and sandbar areas.
• Additionally, they refer individuals with questionable citizenship to FTs to determine their nationality based on documentation.
• The Election Commission of India can also refer cases of 'D' (doubtful) voters to an FT.
• People excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft, released in August 2019, can appeal to FTs to prove their citizenship.
• Approximately 19.06 lakh out of 3.3 crore applicants were excluded from the NRC, and the process is currently on hold.

About the Recent Controversy:

• On July 11 2024, the Supreme Court overturned a Foreign Tribunal decision that had declared Rahim Ali, a now-deceased farmer, a foreigner 12 years ago.
• The court called this decision a "grave miscarriage of justice" and emphasized that the Foreigners’ Act does not give authorities the power to randomly select people and demand they prove their citizenship.
• In September 2018, an FT member in Morigaon, central Assam, remarked that cases involving foreigners had become like an industry, with many people trying to make money off the situation.
• The member also pointed out that notices were often placed on trees or electric poles, leaving the accused unaware of the cases against them.