Srinagar: Division Bench of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, comprising Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi, on Wednesday directed the Home Secretary of J&K to evolve a mechanism for identification of all illegal immigrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh staying in the Union Territory.
The direction has been passed following a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Advocate Hunar Gupta, seeking direction for holding an inquiry into the stay of illegal immigrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh. After hearing the argument from advocates for the PIL and UT, the bench further directed that the exercise may be carried out, most promptly, within a period of six weeks.
In the PIL, apart from deportation of illegal immigrants, prayer has also been made for withdrawal of all benefits given to them from the State exchequer and from the scheme and benefits meant for residents of J&K. “For the last few years, there is abrupt increase in the number of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar. As per the Government version 13,400 Myanmari and Bangladeshi illegal immigrants are living in various areas of J&K. However, the actual figures are much more than the official figures”, the PIL said.
It has further been submitted that many of the illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar have acquired ration card, voter card, Aadhar cards as well as permanent resident certificates illegally and they are suspected to be involved in various anti-national activities such as drug trafficking, hawala transactions etc. at the behest of enemies of the nation.
During the course of the hearing, the bench observed, “one of the orders dated 24.05.2017 passed in the PIL indicates that at that time the Government had constituted a Group of Ministers to examine the various issues relating to illegal migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The Group of Ministers was supposed to take up the matter, examine it and furnish a report thereof. But till date, nothing has come on record. In the meantime, the State of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated and the UT of J&K has been created”.
Senior Advocate Sunil Sethi submitted that though it is very easy to identify such illegal migrants the Government should come up with a complete mechanism to identify them and submit a list of all such immigrants before the court. AAG Raman Sharma accepted that the Government will try to do the identification and evolve a robust mechanism for that. The bench after hearing both sides, directed the Secretary Home, UT of J&K to consider the matter and evolve a mechanism for the identification of all illegal immigrants
