A writ petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Assam government’s controversial ‘push-back policy’ aimed at tackling infiltration from Bangladesh. The plea, moved by the All BTC Minority Students Union (ABMSU), alleges that the state government is arbitrarily deporting Indian citizens without adhering to legal procedures under the guise of targeting illegal migrants.
Advocate-on-Record (AOR) Adeel Ahmad mentioned the matter before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih, seeking urgent listing.
“I have filed a writ petition as well, challenging the pushback policy of Assam,” Ahmad submitted before the court.
The petition asserts that the policy violates fundamental rights under Articles 14, 21, and 22 of the Constitution and is being misused in the aftermath of a Supreme Court order dated February 4, 2025.
In that ruling, a bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan had directed the state to deport 63 individuals whose Bangladeshi nationality had been verified by both the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the government of Bangladesh.
However, ABMSU’s petition claims that invoking the February 4 order, the Assam government has launched a sweeping campaign of informal deportations across border districts such as Dhubri, South Salmara, and Goalpara, even in cases where individuals have not been declared foreigners by any tribunal, have not undergone nationality verification, or have not been informed of their right to appeal.
The Supreme Court is yet to take a call on the listing of the matter.
