Ministry of Home Affairs Amends Foreigners Tribunals Order For Post-NRC Situation

Tribunals have to give opinions within 120 days

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The recently amended Order – Foreigners (Tribunals) Amendment Order, 2019 – has made referring of cases to the Foreigners Tribunals a two-way traffic. It has also spelled out a clear-cut route map to be followed by those who failed to make it to the final NRC in post-NRC publication.

In accordance with the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964, it is only the government that has to refer cases to the Foreigners Tribunals. It has all along been a one-way traffic. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has amended the FT Order recently and published it in the Gazette of India on June 4, 2019. The amended Order has enabled even people who have been declared ‘ineligible’ for making it to the final NRC to move the FTs on their own. This is apart from the government referring such cases to the FTs.

An appellant may approach the FT with a certified copy of the rejection order received from the NRC authorities either in person or through a legal practitioner or a relation authorized by him/her in writing, subject to the acceptance of such representation by the Tribunal. The State government may appoint a pleader to represent the district magistrates, the amended Order said.

The Tribunal, according to the amended Order, shall issue a notice to the district magistrate to produce NRC records within thirty days from date of receipt of the notice and a copy of the notice shall also be sent to the pleader appearing for the government and to the appellant. On its part, the district magistrates shall provide the NRC records in original, including the application form and documents submitted by the appellant and orders passed by the NRC authorities, to the pleader appearing for the government against the claims or objections filed by the appellant.

The district magistrates may also refer to the Tribunal for its opinion the question as to whether the appellant is a foreigner or not within the meaning of the Foreigners Act, 1946.

Persons against whom a reference has already been made by the competent authority to any Foreigners Tribunals shall not be eligible to file the appeal before the Tribunal, the Order said, and added that if any Foreigners Tribunal has already given opinion about a person earlier as a

foreigner, such a person shall not be eligible to file an appeal to any Tribunal.

Upon production of the records by the district magistrates, if the Tribunal finds merit in the appeal, it shall issue notice to the appellant and the district magistrate for hearing, specifying the date within thirty days from the date of production of the records.

The final order of the Tribunal, to be given within 120 days from the date of production of the records, shall contain its opinion on the matter whether the appellant is eligible for inclusion in the NRC or not. It shall also contain the opinion of the Tribunal on the reference of the district magistrate.

The Supreme Court of India has made it a point that the publication of the Final NRC cannot be beyond July 31, 2019. The complete draft NRC enrolled the names of 2, 89, 83,677 out of 3, 29,91, 384, applicants. Of the around 40.07 lakh applicants who were found ‘ineligible’ to be included in the complete draft published last year, nearly 36.20 lakh have filed claims for inclusion in the final NRC. Around two lakh objections were also filed against the inclusion of ‘ineligible’ persons in the complete draft NRC. Hearing of the claims and objections are currently underway.

At present there are 100 FTs in Assam. The MHA has recently approved 400 other additional FTs, and 200 of them are to be set up in phase 1.

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