Kolkata, Sept. 24 -- West Bengal's handling of suspected illegal foreign nationals faces an apparent legal gap, with the new immigration regime providing for detection, restriction and deportation while the state has no Foreigners Tribunal, an issue flagged at the Supreme Court recently.

The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, replaced the Foreigners Act, 1946 and three other laws. It retains criminal offences while separately providing for removal. Illegal entry without valid documents can attract up to five years' imprisonment or Rs 5 lakh fine; overstay and other violations, up to three years or Rs 3 lakh. Section 29 provides for removal, with specified powers delegated to states.

The Immigration and Foreigners Order, 2025 allows border forces to send back illegal migrants attempting entry after capturing biometric details.

Those detected inside India can be restricted to holding centres pending deportation. Without travel documents, nationality verification and travel documents can be sought through the Ministry of External Affairs.

The MHA's May 2, 2025 instructions on illegal Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas envisage identification and inquiry by state authorities, followed by handover to the BSF or Coast Guard for exit.

The Order retains Foreigners Tribunals, though referral is not mandatory in every case.

The Bengal issue surfaced before the Supreme Court in May when it ordered bail for foreign nationals who had completed their sentences but remained in prison for over three years, subject to safeguards including a Rs 1 lakh bond with two Indian-citizen sureties, biometric recording and weekly police reporting. The order referred to a Foreigners Tribunal.

On August 31, a Bench headed by CJI Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, added "jurisdictional trial court" after being told Bengal has no such tribunal.

The issue has surfaced in recent detentions too. TMC Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam said on September 18 that 19 of 23 people from Murshidabad's Suti, Raghunathganj and Samserganj, detained in Raipur since September 4 on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals, had been released. Last December, Centre brought back pregnant Sunali Khatun and her son from Bangladesh after being deported illegally. Assam, on the contrary, has a long-established Foreigners Tribunal system.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.