NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday decided to monitor implementation of law to check illegal immigration, saying while the statutory scheme of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act is constitutionally valid, there is inadequate enforcement of it, leading to the possibility of widespread injustice.
Supreme Court to Oversee CAA Enforcement Amidst Concerns Over Illegal Immigration
In a separate judgment, Justices Surya Kant, M M Sundresh and Manoj Misra said the intention of Section 6A, i.e., to restrict illegal immigration post-1971 has also not been given proper effect.
The court decided to monitor implementation of its directions to deal with the situation.
Court Highlights Inadequate Implementation of Section 6A and Border Security Lapses
"Regarding the inquiry into the estimated influx of illegal migrants post 25.03.1971, the Union of India was unable to provide precise figures due to the clandestine nature of such inflows. This underscores the necessity for more robust policy measures to curb illicit movements and enhance border regulation. Additionally, it was disclosed that approximately 97,714 cases are pending before the Foreigner Tribunals, and nearly 850 kilometres of border remain unfenced or inadequately monitored," the bench said.
The court said the directions issued in Sarbananda Sonowal case are required to be given effect to for the purpose of deporting the illegal immigrants.
"The provisions of the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950 shall also be read into Section 6A and shall be effectively employed for the purpose of identification of illegal immigrants," the bench said.
The court said the statutory machinery and Tribunals tasked with the identification and detection of illegal immigrants or foreigners in Assam are inadequate and not proportionate to the requirement of giving time-bound effect to the legislative object of Section 6A read with the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, the Foreigners Act, 1946, the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964, the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and the Passport Act, 1967.
"The implementation of immigration and citizenship legislations cannot be left to the mere wish and discretion of the authorities, necessitating constant monitoring by this court," the bench said.
For this purpose, the court directed to place the matter before the Chief Justice of India for constituting a bench to monitor the implementation of the directions.
