No specific direction issued for the release of non-Muslims from Assam detention centres, Centre informs Lok Sabha

Published on:

09 Feb 2020, 7:04 am

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]HE Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, informed the Lok Sabha on February 4 that, after enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, no specific instruction had been issued by the central government regarding release of declared foreigners belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, Christian and Jain communities who are currently in the detention camps in Assam.

The MoS was answering to question raised by Member of Parliament (MP) Abdul Khaleque from Assam – whether the government has taken any initiative to release those declared foreigners belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, Christian and Jain communities who are in detention camps.

The Mos, however, mentioned that an advisory was issued by the central government in January 2016 to the Government of Assam to examine the cases of all persons covered by various court cases filed in Guwahati High Court and to release them from detention centres if they satisfy the conditions and requirements as laid down in the notification dated September 7, 2015.

2015 notification

Under the 2015 notification, the central government by invoking the power under Section 3 (2) (c) of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and Section 3 (A) of the Foreigners Act, 1946 made rules for exemptions for a certain class of individuals.

Section 3 (2)(c) of the Passport Act, 1920 empowers the central government to make any rules to provide for the exemption, either absolutely or on any condition, of any person or class of persons from any provision of the Passport Act. While Section 3 (A) empowers the central government to make any orders regarding entry and departure of any class of persons under the Foreigners Act.

While making the amendments in the Passport (Entry into India) Amendment Rules, 1950 and the Foreigners Order, 1948, the central government made the following rules of exemption in the notification:

1. Passport Amendment Rules

(1) These rules may be called the Passport (Entry into India) Amendment Rules, 2015.

(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

2. In the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950, in rule 4, in sub-rule (I), after clause (h), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:-

“"(ha) persons belonging to minority communities in Bangladesh and Pakistan, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who were compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear of religious persecution and entered into India on or before the 31 st December, 2014-
(i) without valid documents including passport or other travel documents; or
(ii) (ii) with valid documents including passport or other travel document and the validity of any of such documents has expired: Provided that provision of this clause shall take effect from the date of publication of this notification in the Official Gazette."

2. Foreigners Orders:

(1) This Order may be called the Foreigners (Amendment) Order, 2015.
(2) It shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
In the Foreigners Order, 1948, after paragraph 3, the following paragraph shall be inserted, namely: —

“"3A. Exemption of certain class of foreigners. – (1) Persons belonging to minority communities in Bangladesh and Pakistan, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who were compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear of religious persecution and entered into India on or before the 31st December, 2014-
(a) without valid documents including passport or other travel documents and who have been exempted under rule 4 from the provisions of rule 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950, made under section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 (34 of 1920); or
(b) with valid documents including passport or other travel document and the validity of any of such documents has expired,
are hereby granted exemption from the application of provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the orders made thereunder in respect of their stay in India without such documents or after the expiry of those documents, as the case may be, from the date of publication of this order in the Official Gazette."

The powers under two acts allow the central government to make selective exemptions even to exclude a certain class of individuals from legal actions even if they are found contravening to the law and rules laid down under the Passport Act and the Foreigners Act.

Effectively, these rules empower the central government to make laws selectively excluding a certain class of individuals from legal actions such as detention, even if they are found contravening the Passport Act and/or the Foreigners act, by entering India without proper documents, or entering with proper documents are staying beyond the allowed period.

By making these exemptions, the central government had arbitrarily changed the standard principle rules for all non-Muslim illegal immigrants in India.

Though the answer of the MoS is correct in saying that there are no specific rules issued by the government "after enacting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019", however, these rules which were notified under the 2015 notification are still in force and has not been changed or dropped.