Criteria set for trial of Bangladeshis in Assam

Only those who came to Assam from Bangladesh immediately before the commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1985, -- and are not Indian citizens -- can be referred to the foreigners tribunals, Indian home ministry said yesterday.

However, in a communication to the Assam government on September 24, the ministry said that Gorkhas, who were Indian citizens at the time of commencement of the Indian Constitution or those who are Indian citizens by birth or those who have acquired Indian citizenship by registration or naturalisation in accordance with The Citizenship Act, 1955, are not “foreigners” under The Foreigners Act, 1946, as well as The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939.

Therefore, such cases will not be referred to the foreigners tribunals, the ministry said in a statement. The communication was sent in the context of the citizenship status of members of the Gorkha community living in Assam as per The Foreigners Act, 1946.

This followed a recent representation from the All Assam Gorkha Students Union to Home Minister Rajnath Singh after some Gorkhas living in Assam were referred to the foreigners tribunals, the statement said.

In the communication, the ministry listed various provisions to avert the difficulties faced by Gorkhas regarding Indian citizenship.

Citing provisions of the 1950 India-Nepal Treaty, the ministry said any Gorkha holding Nepalese nationality, and who arrived in India by land or air over the Nepal border even without a passport or visa and has been staying in India for any length of time, shall not be treated as an illegal migrant if he or she possesses any of the identity documents such as Nepalese passport, Nepalese Citizenship Certificate, voter Identification card issued by Nepal's Election Commission, limited validity photo-identity certificate issued by Nepalese Mission in India when deemed necessary and for children aged between 10 and 18 years, photo ID issued by the principal of the school, if accompanied by parents having valid travel documents.

The communication said the cases of Gorkhas falling within these parameters should not be referred to the foreigners tribunals for opinion as to whether they are “foreigners” under The Foreigners Act.