On Tuesday, the Supreme Court extended the deadline for the Centre to submit a detailed report on the deportation of 270 foreign nationals to their respective countries detained in Assam’s transit camps. The new deadline is now March 21.

A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan postponed the hearing to March 21 after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, requested additional time to file the report on this sensitive issue.

SG Mehta informed the top court on Tuesday that the Centre is aiming for additional time to complete “deliberations at the highest level”. “The issue of deportation of persons (detained in correctional or transit camps across Assam) and declared foreigners in Assam was under consideration at the highest executive level. If granted time, I will place on record the decision taken by the competent authority,” Mehta notified the SC.

The Supreme Court accepted his plea and extended the deadline until March 21, directing him to submit a response regarding the decision to deport the identified foreigners to their home countries.

The case involved deporting 270 foreign nationals held in Assam’s transit camps. The Assam government informed the court that the deportation process for 63 detainees had been delayed because their addresses in their respective countries were unavailable.

On February 4, the Supreme Court strongly criticised the Assam government for its inaction on deporting individuals declared as foreigners. Expressing frustration, the court questioned the state's delay, asking, “Are you waiting for some muhurat?” regarding the deportation of those detained foreigners. In its directive, the court ordered the Assam government to deport 63 individuals identified as foreigners.

Rebuking the state for failing to act, the court stated, “Once they are held to be foreigners, they should be deported immediately. You know their citizenship status. Then how can you wait till their address is received? It is for the other country to decide where they should go.”

The Supreme Court was hearing a case filed by petitioner Rajubala against the Central government concerning the deportation of foreigners.

During the proceedings, the court also directed the Centre to clarify whether it could establish a policy to address the adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccination, including deaths. The bench noted that such cases should not be treated in isolation, emphasising the need for a compensation framework.

In addition, the Supreme Court dismissed a chargesheet against retired Army officer Capt. Rakesh Walia in an alleged rape case, calling it an “abuse of process of law.” A bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran ruled that the Delhi High Court had erred in not quashing the chargesheet, thereby granting relief to Walia.