200 Additional Foreigners Tribunals, Members on Tenterhooks

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The 200 additional foreigners tribunals (FTs) are on tenterhooks, so are the 200 newly appointed FT members. Even after over two months of their appointment, the FT members have not been posted to their respective FTs. They are literally sitting idle.

It was on September 11, 2019 when the Home and Political Department appointed 200 members for the 200 additional FTs for a year. A notification was issued to this effect by the department. The formation of the 200 additional FTs and appointment of their members were meant for making the people who failed to make it to the final NRC appeal to FTs within 120 days from the date of receiving of NRC rejection orders.

An ‘NRC rejection order’ is supposed to make an NRC ineligible applicant know as to why his/her application for inclusion in the final NRC has been rejected.

The 200 FT members were selected by the Gauhati High Court after publishing an advertisement and holding interviews. They were initially attached to the existing FTs so as to let them observe the functioning of tribunals. However, a section of them has stopped going to the existing FTs now.

In its notification of September 11, 2019 the Home and Political Department made a mention that the places of posting of the newly appointed additional FT members would be made through a separate notification. Even after over two months the notification is not forthcoming.

According to sources, the file meant for the posting of the additional FT members has been lying in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

The uncertainty does not augur well for the Indians who have been declared ineligible for inclusion in the final NRC as well.

At present, Assam has 100 Foreigners Tribunals (FTs) for the detection of foreigners.

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