New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down as unconstitutional a government notification that puts the onus of proving a particular person to be a foreigner on the complainant.
The court repealed the Assam-specific legislation saying it was unconstitutional for a state to have laws different to those in the rest of the country.
Previously in Assam, the burden of proving that someone was an illegal immigrant lay with the accuser. Now that burden of proof has been shifted to the accused, who will need to either prove their nationality or face deportation, bringing Assam into line with the rest of India.
Many Assamese say the change is necessary to stop poor, mostly Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh from illegally entering the oil- and tea-rich state in search of jobs. "The Supreme Court judgement is a victory for the indigenous people of Assam and justice has been done to the people," said Sammujal Bhattacharjee, leader of the powerful All Assam Students Union, which campaigned for the change.
But the state's Muslim minority fears such a law will be used to harass them in a hunt for illegal immigrants.
A Bench comprising Justices S B Sinha and Markandeya Katju also directed the Union government to constitute sufficient number of tribunals to detect alleged infiltration of thousands of Bangladeshis into Assam.
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