The Assam government has intensified its use of a decades-old expulsion law, with the Biswanath district administration issuing fresh orders directing two women to leave the country within a day. This action follows closely on the heels of identical orders served to fifteen individuals from another district earlier in December.
Latest Orders Target Women Declared Foreigners Two Decades Ago
On December 20, 2025, the Biswanath district administration issued expulsion directives to Asmul Khatun and Afuja Begum. The orders, invoking the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act of 1950 (IEAA), state that their presence in India is "detrimental to the interest of the general public and also for the internal security of the State." The women have been instructed to "remove" themselves from Assam and India within 24 hours of receiving the order via a specified border route.
According to official records, both women were declared foreigners by Foreigners Tribunals in Biswanath district back in 2005. Biswanath Superintendent of Police Ajagwran Basumatary confirmed that the two are currently under detention at the Matia transit camp, which is Assam's designated detention centre for individuals declared as illegal foreigners. He stated that their deportation process is underway and will be executed after receiving the necessary clearance from the Border Security Force (BSF).
A Pattern of Expulsion Under a Colonial-Era Law
This recent move is not an isolated incident. Just days before, on December 17, 2025, the Nagaon district administration had issued the same type of orders to 15 people. Police confirmed that this group was transported from the Matia camp towards the Bangladesh border on December 19. However, their current whereabouts remain officially unconfirmed.
The law being invoked, the IEAA of 1950, is a piece of legislation originally drafted in the aftermath of Partition to check migration from the region that was then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The Act empowers the government to order any person, whose stay in Assam is deemed harmful to public interest or the interests of Scheduled Tribes, to remove themselves from the state or the country within a stipulated time and via a specified route.
Legal Process and Implications
The use of this Act signifies a direct administrative route for expulsion, separate from the long-drawn judicial process of the Foreigners Tribunals and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The orders are issued based on the opinion that the individuals' presence is a security and public interest threat.
The situation highlights the ongoing complex and sensitive issue of citizenship and migration in Assam. The state's administration appears to be accelerating actions against individuals who have been through the tribunal process and declared as foreigners, now moving them from detention to the deportation stage using this specific legal provision.
The focus now shifts to the implementation of these orders and the logistical and diplomatic steps involved in the actual deportation process at the international border.
