Assam invokes 1950 Act: Five ‘Declared Foreigners’ ordered to leave Sonitpur in 24 hours

Sonitpur, Assam – In a significant and first-known invocation of the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, the Sonitpur district administration has ordered five individuals, previously declared foreigners by a tribunal, to leave the state of Assam and India.

The move comes after the Assam cabinet approved the implementation of the decades-old Act earlier this year. The orders, signed by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ananda Kumar Das on Tuesday, mark a new phase in the state’s efforts against illegal immigration.

The Details of the Order

The five individuals—four women and one man, reportedly from two families—were identified as residents of Dhobokata village in Sonitpur district.

• Foreigner Declaration: The Sonitpur Foreigners Tribunal No. 2 had declared the five as foreign citizens in separate cases this year. The cases were originally filed by the Tezpur Superintendent of Police (Border) in 2006.
• Invoking the 1950 Act: The DC’s order explicitly states that, as “Declared Foreigners,” their “presence in Assam/India is detrimental to the interest of the general public and also for the internal security of the state.”
• Expulsion Route and Deadline: The individuals have been directed to “remove yourself from the territory of Assam, India, within 24 hours from receiving this order via the Dhubri/Sribhumi/South Salmara-Mankachar route,” which leads towards Bangladesh.
• Consequence of Default: The orders warn that a default on these directions would lead to the government taking “appropriate action” to “remove” them.

Following the issuance of the orders, police have reported that the five people’s whereabouts are unknown and that they are “absconding.”

Locals from Dhobokata village corroborated this, stating that the individuals had left the area and have not lived there for over a decade. The local administration is now faced with the challenge of enforcing the expulsion order against absconding individuals.

What is the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950?

The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, empowers the Central Government to remove from Assam any person or class of persons who have “whether before or after the commencement of this Act, come into Assam from any place outside India” if their presence is “detrimental to the interests of the general public of India or of any section thereof or of any Scheduled Tribe in Assam.”

The recent approval by the state cabinet to implement this Act signals a hardening stance on immigration issues in the state, potentially providing the administration with a new legal tool to tackle individuals declared foreigners by the tribunals.