Guwahati, Feb 4: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Assam government to initiate the deportation process for 63 individuals currently held in detention centres within the next two weeks.

The order came as the court expressed displeasure over the state’s delay in deporting individuals who have been declared "foreigners" by the Foreigners’ Tribunal.

A division bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan questioned the government’s failure to deport the individuals, stating that once someone is identified as a “foreigner”, the deportation process should begin immediately.

"You have refused to start deportation saying their addresses are not known. Why should it be our concern? You deport them to their foreign country. Are you waiting for some muhurat (auspicious time)?" a national newswire quoted the bench as saying.

The directive was issued during a hearing on a petition concerning the deportation of individuals declared as foreigners and the facilities at transit centres in Assam.

Recently, the issue of deportation once again gained attention after the escape of three Rohingyas from Goalpara's Matia transit camp on January 5, prompting a police manhunt. The incident highlighted security concerns at the detention camps in Assam.

In September 2024, the Supreme Court had directed the Assam government to submit a detailed deportation plan for 211 foreign nationals held at the Matia transit camp.

The court stressed the need for a coordinated effort between the Union and state governments to facilitate the deportation, following an affidavit from the Ministry of Home Affairs that delegated the responsibility to the state government.

The Court further noted that deportation would require diplomatic coordination between India’s Ministry of External Affairs and the Bangladesh government, as the foreign nationals involved are allegedly from Bangladesh.

As of January 2023, more than 1,000 individuals declared as foreigners were being held across six detention centres in Assam, including those in Kokrajhar, Goalpara, Tezpur, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, and Silchar.

However, many of these individuals have since been released on conditional bail, following orders from both the Gauhati High Court and the Supreme Court.