Guwahati, Feb 26: The Supreme Court was informed by the Centre on Tuesday that the issue of deportation of individuals declared as foreigners in Assam is under consideration at the "highest executive level."

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing before a bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, stated that a decision on deporting these identified foreigners is expected by March 21.

Seeking additional time, Mehta’s request was granted by the bench, which scheduled the next hearing for March 21.

Earlier, on February 4, the apex court had strongly criticised the Assam government for keeping declared foreigners in detention centers indefinitely instead of ensuring their deportation. The court had questioned whether the state was waiting for "some muhurat" (auspicious time) to act on the matter.

Expressing concern over the Assam government's approach, the court noted that once detainees have been identified as foreigners, they should be deported without delay.

The bench was particularly surprised by the state’s justification that nationality verification forms were not being sent to the Ministry of External Affairs due to a lack of detainees' known addresses in their respective foreign countries.

Calling this explanation flawed, the court had, on January 22, rebuked the Assam government for failing to provide clear reasons for detaining 270 foreigners at the Matia transit camp. The court also directed the Assam State Legal Services Authority to conduct surprise visits to the facility to inspect hygiene conditions and food quality.

The matter is part of an ongoing plea concerning the deportation process and conditions at detention centers in Assam.