A writ petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the controversial “push-back policy” of the Assam government, which is allegedly being used indiscriminately to deport individuals from India to Bangladesh without following due legal procedures.
The petition, filed by the All BTC Minority Students Union (ABMSU), alleges that the state government is arbitrarily pushing genuine Indian citizens towards the Bangladesh border under the pretext of deporting illegal migrants. The petition also argues that this violates the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
Adil Ahmed, Advocate-on-Record (AOR) for the petitioner, mentioned the writ petition before a bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih. Highlighting the urgency of the matter, he said,
“I have also filed a writ petition challenging the push-back policy of Assam, as it is carrying out the entire deportation process.”
The petition specifically referred to an earlier order passed by the Supreme Court on February 4, 2025. In that order, a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan had directed the State of Assam to initiate the process of deporting 63 declared foreigners whose nationality had been verified by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Government of Bangladesh. The Court also ordered Assam to file a status report within two weeks.
However, the ABMSU petition argues that this order is being misused. It claims that the Assam authorities have started an indiscriminate deportation drive against individuals even though there has been no formal declaration from the Foreigners Tribunals, no nationality verification and no exhaustive exhaustion of legal remedies.
The petition states,
“Despite these safeguards, individuals are being detained and deported without being informed of the orders of the Foreigners Tribunal, without nationality verification by the Ministry of External Affairs and, in many cases, without being informed of their right to review or appeal.”
The petition further argues that this policy violates fundamental rights under Articles 14, 21 and 22 of the Constitution and contradicts the principles established in the landmark judgment on Section 6A of the Citizenship Act 1955. In that case, the Supreme Court had emphasised that:
“No person, whether declared a foreigner or a suspect, can be deported unless he has had an opportunity to exhaust the remedies available to him under the law, including appeal or review. Deportation cannot be imposed merely on the basis of executive suspicion or extrajudicial communication.”
The Court also cautioned against creating statelessness and emphasised that when nationality is in doubt,
“In cases of doubt, the presumption should be in favour of the individual, consistent with Article 21 and the principle of fairness.”
The Assam government’s “push-back policy” is reportedly being implemented in border districts such as Dhubri, South Salmara and Goalpara. Several credible news reports, including the Deccan Herald and the Indian Express, have documented cases of individuals such as Kahirul Islam, a retired teacher who was allegedly “pushed back” to Bangladesh, and Abu Bakar Siddique and Akbar Ali, whose families fear they were deported without due process.
The petitioner has sought several key reliefs from the Supreme Court, including:
- A declaration that deportation without due process is unconstitutional.
- A stay on the deportation of individuals not named in Annexure-II of the affidavit dated 03.02.2025.
- Directions to Union and State authorities to produce records of such actions before the Court.
- Monitoring and remedial steps through NHRC and legal services authorities to protect affected persons.
Case title: All BTC Minority Students Union (ABMSU), Kokrajhar, BTC (Assam) vs Union of India & Ors.
