The Madras High Court on Monday directed the Union Home Ministry to consider framing appropriate laws, in three months, to prevent illegal immigrants from committing petty crimes, repeatedly, just to stay back in the country. Expressing shock over some illegal immigrants managing to even obtain Aaadhar cards, the court impressed upon the need to deport every foreigner residing illegally in the country.
Justice M. Dhandapani ordered that Foreigners Registration Offices and Immigration Check Posts on land borders should share details regarding the entry of foreigners into the country with the State law enforcing agency on a fortnightly basis. The State police, in turn, must track the movement of foreigners by establishing special wings in every district and identify those who overstay their visa period without valid extensions.
Foreigners who have overstayed their visa period or have entered the country illegally without requisite documents must be sent to detention camps/holding centres until they get repatriated to their countries as per guidelines issued by the Home Ministry. Foreigners lodged in prisons on being convicted for criminal offences must be deported immediately after the completion of their sentence, the judge ordered.
The orders were passed while disposing of a batch of bail petitions filed by Sri Lankan, Nigerian, Chinese, Iranian and Bangladeshi nationals, booked for various criminal cases. The judge was taken aback to learn that over 13,000 foreigners were residing illegally in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchi alone. He also could not believe that some of them were residing illegally in the country for over 10 years, and no steps had been taken to deport them.
Observing that the lack of coordination between Central and State agencies was the reason why illegal immigrants continued residing in the country and indulged in nefarious activities, the judge said the State police was the fulcrum of the set up, since it had to identify illegal immigrants and take action to apprehend them and bring them to the notice of authorities, so that deportation can be taken up.
“It has also come to the attention of the court that illegal migrants, with a view to circumvent deportation and to continue their stay in the territory of India, resort to certain subterfuge like committing petty crimes and serving simple sentences and come out and do the same once over. Such acts… is not in the interest of safety and the security of the country. However, no mechanism or law is available as on date to identify such individuals and curb such acts,” he said.
After directing the Centre to consider bringing in a law to curb such practices, he ordered the listing of the matter again on January 4 for the Centre and the State police to report compliance with the directions issued by him.
