SC raps Assam govt over 'sorry state' of detention centre for foreigners

A Supreme Court bench asked the Assam Legal Services Authority to visit the detention centre to establish sub-par facilities and assess the quantity and quality of food and kitchen hygiene

The Supreme Court on Friday chided the Assam government for the “sorry state” of a detention centre that houses individuals with unclear citizenship and foreigners waiting to be deported. The top court said it was “troubled by the lack of water and sanitation facilities and non-functioning toilets”.
 

Referring to a report by the Secretary of the Assam Legal Services Authority about a detention centre in Matia in Goalpara district, a bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice AG Masih said, “There are no proper toilets... no medical facilities. What are you managing?”

It added, “We find the facilities are very poor... there is no adequate water supply, no sanitation system, or proper toilets. The report does not speak about medical health.”

Hearing a petition about the Matia detention centre, which holds 3,000 people, the SC Bench asked the Assam Legal Services Authority to visit the detention centre to establish sub-par facilities and assess the quantity and quality of food and kitchen hygiene. It also asked the authority to file a report within three weeks.

Earlier, the court had told the Centre to deport 17 declared foreigners held in detention camps across the northeastern state. Four of the foreigners have been held for two years. The Centre is yet to respond on the issue of deportation.

Back in 2023, the Assam government had started shifting identified foreigners to the detention centre as per an order of the Gauhati High Court. These individuals were declared foreigners either by the Foreigners Tribunals, a quasi-judicial body, or were convicted by courts.

In August 2019, Assam published a National Register of Citizens, to distinguish Indian citizens from undocumented immigrants living in the state. According to its terms, anyone who could not prove that they or their ancestors entered Assam before midnight on March 24, 1971, cannot be considered a citizen.