05-19-2005, 02:43 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Govt must deport 100 aliens daily: HC </b>
Staff Reporter/ New Delhi
The Delhi High Court has dismissed the Centre's plea seeking to amend its earlier action plan which required it to deport 100 illegal Bangladeshi migrants every day.
Accepting there has been a shortfall in achieving the deportation target of illegal Bangladeshi migrants, the Centre on Wednesday expressed its helplessness to meet the target set before the court since the matter was sought to be pursued diplomatically.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice BC Patel and Justice SK Kaul while dismissing the application as "absurd", observed, "the application has been made in the guise to delay the entire process of deportation".
Stating that the Centre has failed to comply with its proposed action plan, the court stressed that the Centre must ensure all steps to comply with its previous action plan.
Putting forth its case, the Centre which was represented by senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, stated to the court that the issue of deportation had to be "practically feasible." This involved taking into consideration the Universal Declaration for Human Rights as well as the Vienna Convention on Consular Relation 1963.
In this context, a meeting of Committee of Secretaries was held on April 25, 2005 which decided that "although identification and transportation of migrants can be implemented, the action relating to deportation can only be taken in conjunction with Bangladeshi authorities."
<b>Hence it was decided that the Ministry of Home Affairs would evolve a practical policy taking into account the facilities which need to be provided to identify illegal migrants as per international conventions, keeping in mind the diplomatic implications while Ministry of External Affairs would engage the Bangladesh Government to arrive at an amicable solution.</b>
Hence, the Centre sought relief from the court to give a go-by to the target of at least 100 deportations per day as set out by the Centre in 2002.
On their part, the Delhi Police filed an affidavit before the court detailing the practical difficulties being faced by them in identifying Bangladeshi nationals. Admitting that the Bangladeshi nationals were getting wiser by the day and shifting base to the city's periphery, they made another startling revelation in court.
<b>Police said that these migrants were beginning to seek shelter in mosques or in residences of local, influential Muslim families. When the police party reached the area, the problem assumed communal overtones</b>. In one instance, the affidavit stated that a police party from Lodhi Colony police station was attacked with stones and the window pane of their van broken by suspected Bangladeshi migrants.
The other problem police faced was that many migrants had valid documents stating they were bonafide Indian citizens.
While assuring that deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants was on, the <b>Delhi Police submitted that a total of 1,994 migrants had been deported by police till April this year.</b>
Considering that several lakh illegal Bangladeshis reside in specific pockets of the city, <b>the Delhi Police with 20 dedicated teams has managed to deport only 15,461 Bangladeshis in three years</b> (2002-05).<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Staff Reporter/ New Delhi
The Delhi High Court has dismissed the Centre's plea seeking to amend its earlier action plan which required it to deport 100 illegal Bangladeshi migrants every day.
Accepting there has been a shortfall in achieving the deportation target of illegal Bangladeshi migrants, the Centre on Wednesday expressed its helplessness to meet the target set before the court since the matter was sought to be pursued diplomatically.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice BC Patel and Justice SK Kaul while dismissing the application as "absurd", observed, "the application has been made in the guise to delay the entire process of deportation".
Stating that the Centre has failed to comply with its proposed action plan, the court stressed that the Centre must ensure all steps to comply with its previous action plan.
Putting forth its case, the Centre which was represented by senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, stated to the court that the issue of deportation had to be "practically feasible." This involved taking into consideration the Universal Declaration for Human Rights as well as the Vienna Convention on Consular Relation 1963.
In this context, a meeting of Committee of Secretaries was held on April 25, 2005 which decided that "although identification and transportation of migrants can be implemented, the action relating to deportation can only be taken in conjunction with Bangladeshi authorities."
<b>Hence it was decided that the Ministry of Home Affairs would evolve a practical policy taking into account the facilities which need to be provided to identify illegal migrants as per international conventions, keeping in mind the diplomatic implications while Ministry of External Affairs would engage the Bangladesh Government to arrive at an amicable solution.</b>
Hence, the Centre sought relief from the court to give a go-by to the target of at least 100 deportations per day as set out by the Centre in 2002.
On their part, the Delhi Police filed an affidavit before the court detailing the practical difficulties being faced by them in identifying Bangladeshi nationals. Admitting that the Bangladeshi nationals were getting wiser by the day and shifting base to the city's periphery, they made another startling revelation in court.
<b>Police said that these migrants were beginning to seek shelter in mosques or in residences of local, influential Muslim families. When the police party reached the area, the problem assumed communal overtones</b>. In one instance, the affidavit stated that a police party from Lodhi Colony police station was attacked with stones and the window pane of their van broken by suspected Bangladeshi migrants.
The other problem police faced was that many migrants had valid documents stating they were bonafide Indian citizens.
While assuring that deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants was on, the <b>Delhi Police submitted that a total of 1,994 migrants had been deported by police till April this year.</b>
Considering that several lakh illegal Bangladeshis reside in specific pockets of the city, <b>the Delhi Police with 20 dedicated teams has managed to deport only 15,461 Bangladeshis in three years</b> (2002-05).<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->