NEW DELHI: Over 1.43 lakh people were declared foreigners by the Foreigners Tribunals (FTs) operating in Assam, the government told the Parliament on Wednesday. Nearly 1.21 lakh others had been declared as Indians by these FTs, a total 100 of which operate in Assam.
In a written statement, the Centre also said that a total of 329 such declared foreigners had been deported to their respective countries till February 1 this year. “The total number of cases pending in these FTs as on December 31, 2021 is 1,23,829.
The total number of people declared as foreigners as on December 31, 2021 is 1,43,466. The total number of people declared as Indian as on December 31, 2021 is 1,21,598. A total of 329 persons have been deported to their countries of origin as on February 1, 2022,” Minister of State for Ministry of Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai informed the Parliament through a written statement.
The MoS added that the state government had been delegated the responsibility to make necessary arrangements for detention centres or camps as per their requirement. The decisions announced by the FTs regarding the issue of citizenship have repeatedly been challenged in various courts across the country and often the interventions have led to the decisions of the tribunals being overturned.
Recently, a two-member bench of the Gauhati High Court in its judgment, allowed one person, declared a foreigner by an FT, another opportunity to prove her case, stating that citizenship was a “very important right of a person”, which “should ordinarily be decided on merit rather than by way of default as has happened in the present case”.