Foreigners Tribunals applicable to the whole country: Centre

The Central on Tuesday said that Foreigners Tribunals are "applicable to the whole country" and not just a specific state.

Major amendments in the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 were undertaken in 2013 and the last amendment was issued in May, an official release from the Home Ministry said.

"All these orders are applicable to the whole country and are not specific to any state. Therefore, there is nothing new in this regard in the latest amendment of May 2019," the statement from the Ministry read.

It stated that the May, 2019 amendment only lays down the modalities for the Tribunals to decide on appeals made by persons not satisfied with the outcome of claims and objections filed against the NRC.

Since NRC work is going on only in Assam, the aforementioned order, issued on May 30 is applicable only to Assam as on date for all practical purposes.

The Amendment Order also provides for reference by District Magistrate to the Tribunal for its opinion as to whether the appellant is a "foreigner" or not within the meaning of the Foreigners Act, 1946, the statement said.

As the Foreigners Tribunals under this order have been established only in Assam and in no other state of the country, this amendment in effect is going to be relevant only to Assam at present.