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2005 Supreme(SC) 873

P. K. BALASUBRAMANYAN, G. P. MATHUR, R. C. LAHOTI
Sarbananda Sonowal – Appellant
Versus
Union of India – Respondent


Judgement Key Points

What is the constitutional validity of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983 and the Rules made thereunder? What is the procedure for the identification and deportation of illegal migrants in Assam? What are the implications of the judgment on pending cases under the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983?

Key Points: - The provisions of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983 and the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Rules, 1984 are declared to be ultra vires the Constitution of India and are struck down (!) . - The Tribunals and Appellate Tribunals constituted under the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983 shall cease to function (!) . - All cases pending before the Tribunals under the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983 shall stand transferred to the Tribunals constituted under the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 (!) . - These transferred cases shall be decided in accordance with the Foreigners Act, the Rules made thereunder, and the procedure prescribed under the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 (!) . - Authorities are permitted to initiate fresh proceedings under the Foreigners Act against persons whose cases were not referred to the Tribunals under the IMDT Act (!) . - All appeals pending before the Appellate Tribunal under the IMDT Act shall be deemed to have abated (!) . - The respondents are directed to constitute sufficient number of Tribunals under the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 to effectively deal with cases of illegal migrants in Assam (!) . - The procedure under the Foreigners Act and the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 is considered more effective for identification and deportation of foreigners compared to the IMDT Act (!) . - The IMDT Act has been found to create insurmountable difficulties in the identification and deportation of illegal migrants, making the task virtually impossible for law enforcement agencies (!) . - The large-scale influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh into Assam is considered an "aggression" and a cause of "internal disturbance," impacting national security and the socio-economic fabric of the region (!) .

What is the constitutional validity of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983 and the Rules made thereunder?

What is the procedure for the identification and deportation of illegal migrants in Assam?

What are the implications of the judgment on pending cases under the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983?


JUDGMENT

G.P. Mathur, J. – This writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India has been filed by way of public interest litigation for declaring certain provisions of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, (Act No. 39 of 1983) 1983 as ultra vires the Constitution of India, null and void and consequent declaration that the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Rules made thereunder shall apply to the State of Assam. The second prayer made is to declare the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Rules, 1984 as ultra vires the Constitution of India and also u/s 28 of the aforesaid Act and, therefore, null and void. Some more reliefs have been claimed which will be referred to at the appropriate stage. The respondents to the writ petition are the Union of India and the State of Assam.

2. The case set up in the writ petition is that the petitioner is a citizen of India and is ordinarily resident in the State of Assam. He is a former President of the All Assam Students Union, which is the largest non-political students organization in the State which was resp

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