Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court, while questioning the efficacy of the Foreigners Tribunals (FTs) in Assam, directed the state government to furnish details on the number of cases disposed of by each of the FTs during the last six months. The HC also sought to know whether the necessary order for the extension of service of the members of the FTs has been issued by the state government, among others.
The single-judge bench of Justice Suman Shyam was hearing a case (WP(C)/1754/2015) relating to the proper infrastructure in the Foreigners Tribunals. After perusing the written instruction from the government dated June 8, 2024, the HC observed that the two issues flagged by the earlier order dated April 30, 2024, viz., the construction of lavatory facilities in some FTs in the Cachar district and the appointment of Assistant Government Pleaders in the FTs in Dima Hasao district of Assam, have been substantially resolved.
At this observation, amicus curiae A. Das invited the court’s attention to another important issue, the extension of the services of the members of the FTs, which had come to an end on May 22, 2024. He also submitted that efforts should be made to ensure quantitative and qualitative output of work in the FTs, and therefore, facilities like proper infrastructure and regular supply of books, journals, etc. must be ensured so as to enable the members of the FTs to dispose of the pending reference cases expeditiously and by proper judicially sustainable orders.
However, D. Mazumder, the Additional Advocate General (AG), Assam, replied that although these are important issues and deserve proper consideration, he does not have the necessary instruction to respond to these issues in the instant hearing and therefore prayed for more time to obtain instruction. Regarding the question of the extension of the tenure of the members of the FTs, Mazumder submitted that a proposal for extension of their services has already been sent by the state government to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, and it has also been approved. However, the matter is now pending before the central Ministry of Finance for necessary approval, he stated.
After hearing both sides, the HC opined that, besides providing proper infrastructure and other facilities in the FTs, an objective assessment must also be made so as to ascertain the nature of work done by them, and an assessment ought to be made as to the number of reference cases disposed of by the Tribunals in a particular year.
Therefore, the HC directed that, on the next date of hearing, the counsel for the state government should obtain specific instructions and place on record an affidavit indicating the following:
(i) Number of cases disposed of by each of the Foreigners Tribunals in Assam during the last six months ending on May 31, 2024.
(ii) Whether proper library facilities, including regular journals, are being provided to the members of the FTs, and if not, the reason for not doing so.
(iii) Whether there is an internal departmental mechanism to look into the grievances of individual members of the FTs and staff working under them.
(iv) Whether a necessary order for the extension of service of the members of the FTs has been issued by the state government.
Also Read: Assam government to review the functioning of Foreigners’ Tribunals (sentinelassam.com)
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