Amended MHA notification leaves sensitive and vital issues unresolved : Assam CM

In a statement Gogoi said that the Union government has amended the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950 and the Foreigners’ Order 1948 through a notification on September 7, 2015 by exempting persons belonging to minority community in Bangladesh or Pakistan who have been compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear of religious persecution and entered into India on or before December 31, 2014, it did not mention specifically about their acquiring Indian citizenship.

“The amendments have sought to provide relaxation for certain class of foreigners and for their stay in India. It did not mention anything about their acquiring Indian citizenship. It is not clear what kind of link is there, if any, with the Citizenship Act, 1955 particularly Section 6-A of the Citizenship Act pertaining to citizenship of persons covered by the Assam Accord and the Citizenship Rule, 2003, the Foreigners’ Tribunal Order 1964 and Foreigners’ Tribunal for Assam Order 2006,” Gogoi said.

Gogoi further said that the notification did not address on certain vital issues concerning foreigners who entered India before Dec 31, 2014 and have been detected as foreigners by the Foreigners’ Tribunals and lodged in detention centres or absconding.

Seeking clarification on a number of important points from the MHA, Gogoi said in view of the amendments exempting specified categories of persons from the Foreigners’ Order 1946, what will be the status of the cases registered against such specified categories of persons in different Foreigners’ Tribunals of Assam?

The Assam Chief Minister questioned about the status of the persons belonging to the specified categories exempted by the Government of India’s latest notification who have been declared foreigners by the Foreigners’ Tribunals and kept in the detention centres.

“If the persons of specified categories as exempted by the MHA notification and are currently lodged in detention centres have to be released, then what process will have to be adopted? The notification is vague on this,” Gogoi said.

Currently there are 191 persons belonging to the specified exempted category lodged in the detention centres across the State.

Gogoi further pointed out that the amendment notification did not say anything on the status of the specified exempted category of persons who have been absconding after being declared foreigners by the Tribunals.

“The moot question is what will be the status of these persons who are absconding after declared foreigners by the tribunals? Will the police not go in for search and apprehension of the persons as is being usually done,” Gogoi said.

The Assam Chief Minister said that the amended notification did not mention anything as to what sort of legal process will have to be adopted with regard to the persons already tried and found as foreigners by the Foreigners’ Tribunals but belonging to the exempted categories.

“Will the burden of proof lie upon them to prove that they belong to the exempted category? What about those persons who were tried and convicted by judicial court for violation of Passport Act 1967,” Gogoi queried.

Gogoi said that the amended notification carried out in a haste has come to the fore as several issues have been left unresolved vis-a-vis whether the specified categories of persons need to apply for exemption under Foreigners’ Act 1946, as provided by the amended notification; whether these persons need to prove they are victims of religious persecution or fear of religious persecution and if so, in what manner or what evidence; whether they have to register themselves as belonging to specified category as mentioned in the notification and if so by what process, under which authority and whether there shall be any means of identification or issue of Identity Card.

The Assam Chief Minister while asking the MHA to come out clear on these issues, queried as to whether the present notification would eventually lead to naturalization of the exempted categories of persons and enable them to acquire Indian citizenship as per Schedule III of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)