Recently, the Assam government asked the Border wing of the State’s police not to forward cases of non-Muslims who entered India illegally before 2014 to the Foreigners Tribunals (FTs).
- This order was in keeping with the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019. The act provides a citizenship application window for non-Muslims — Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Jains, and Buddhists — who allegedly fled persecution in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
- The Foreigners Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies formed through the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order of 1964 under Section 3 of the Foreigners’ Act of 1946, to let local authorities in a State refer a person suspected to be a foreigner to tribunals.
- The Foreigners Tribunals are currently exclusive to Assam as cases of “illegal immigrants” are dealt with according to the Foreigners’ Act in other States.
- Each Foreigners Tribunals is headed by a member drawn from judges, advocates, and civil servants with judicial experience.
- The Ministry of Home Affairs told Parliament in 2021 that there are 300 Foreigners Tribunals in Assam.
- The Foreigners Tribunals under this order have been established only in Assam.
- According to the 1964 order, an Foreigners Tribunal has the powers of a civil court in certain matters such as summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him or her on oath and requiring the production of any document.
- Cases of ‘D’ or doubtful voters can be referred to an Foreigners Tribunal by the Election Commission of India.
- People excluded from the complete draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) released in August 2019 can appeal to the Foreigners Tribunal concerned to prove their citizenship.
- Under the provisions of Foreigners Act 1946 and Foreigners (Tribunals) Order 1964, only Foreigners Tribunals are empowered to declare a person as a foreigner. Thus, non-inclusion of a person’s name in NRC does not by itself amount to him/her being declared as a foreigner.
