SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Before:- A.S. Anand, C.J, M. Jagannadha Rao and N. Santosh Hegde, JJ.

Writ Petition (C) No. 125 of 1998. D/d. 22.3.1999

A.I. Lawyers Forum for Civil Liberties and another - Petitioners

Versus

Union of India - Respondent

For the Petitioner :- Mr. O.P. Saxena, Mr. C.R. Mirdha and Mr. M.A. Chinnasamy, Advocates.

For the Respondent :- Mr. R.N. Trivedi, Additional Solicitor General (Tufail A. Khan, Ms. Sushma Suri, Mr. P. Parameswaran, Mr. T.C. Sharma and Mr. S.B. Upadhyay, Advocates.

Foreigners Act, 1946, Section 3 - Constitution of India, 1950, Article 21 - Deportation - Illegal Immigration - Status report - Ministry of Home Affairs advised State Government and Union Territory Administrator to :-

(i) send details of residential address etc. as claimed by suspected persons to the concerned Government for verification and report within 30 days

(ii) advance information about movement of deportees under police escort

(iii) set up appropriate mechanism

[Para 2]

ORDER

A.S. Anand, C.J. - Delay in filing the status report is condoned.

2. The Ministry of Home Affairs has filed the status report on illegal immigration of Bangladeshi nationals. In the report, inter alia, it is indicated that instructions relating to deportation of Bangladeshi nationals staying illegally in India were reviewed in September 1998 and the State Government/Union Territory of Administrations were advised to comply with the following decisions before deportation of Bangladeshi nationals:

"(i) while identifying and detecting illegally staying Bangladeshi nationals, the State Governments would send details of residential address etc. as claimed by the suspected persons to the concerned State Government (where the said person claims to hail from in case he claims to be an Indian) for verification and report within 30 days. During this period of 30 days the competent authority will ensure, by obtaining permission of the court wherever necessary, the detention of such persons to ensure physical availability at the time of deportation. If no report is received within this period, the competent authorities take necessary action to deport the suspected foreigner; and

(ii) advance information about movement of deportees under police escort by one State through another State would be given by the State from which deportees are being sent to the concerned State Police. Appropriate mechanism in this regard would be set up by the concerned States.

26. Government of India is of the view that the problem of illegal immigration from Bangladesh into India, including West Bengal, is a matter of serious concern. This problem is most serious in West Bengal which shares the longest border with Bangladesh and also on account of linguistic, ethnic and cultural similarities between the people on the two sides of the border."

3. In the status report, it is also indicated that the averments contained in para 12 of the affidavit dated 1-2-1999 filed by the Government of West Bengal do not disclose the correct picture.

4. Learned counsel for the State of West Bengal, Respondent 3 prays for and is granted two weeks time to file the response of the State of West Bengal to the status report.

5. List after three weeks.

.