NRC: Gurkhas can’t be detained

Centre tells Assam government that their cases cannot be tried at tribunals
The Centre has told the Assam government that Gurkhas living in the State cannot be sent to detention centres. Nor could their cases be tried at the Foreigners’ Tribunals.
An estimated 1,00,000 of some 2.5 million Gurkhas in Assam had not found their names in the updated draft list of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) published on June 30. A senior Home Ministry official said the Election Commission had referred the cases of some Gurkhas to the Foreigners’ Tribunals as their names were included in the voters’ list, in contravention of the India-Nepal Treaty signed in 1950 that bars them from Indian citizenship.
Under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, only Indian citizens are eligible to vote.
In a communication sent to the Assam government, the Ministry said the Gurkhas who were Indian citizens at the time of commencement of the Constitution, or those who are Indian citizens by birth, or those who have acquired Indian citizenship by registration or naturalisation in accordance with the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955, are not “foreigners” and therefore, such cases will not be referred to the tribunals. The Ministry issued the clarification following a representation from the All Assam Gurkha Students’ Union to Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
Special condition
“Any member of the Gurkha community holding Nepalese nationality and who has arrived in India by land or air over the Nepal border even without a passport or visa and staying in India for any length of time shall not be treated as an illegal migrant if he/she is in possession of any of the identity documents, namely the Nepalese passport, Nepalese citizenship certificate, voter identification card issued by the Election Commission of Nepal, and limited-validity photo-identity certificate issued by the Nepalese Mission in India when deemed necessary and for children in the age group of 10-18, photo ID issued by the principal of the school if accompanied by parents having valid travel documents, as per the provisions of India-Nepal Treaty signed in 1950,” a statement by the Ministry said. The statement said the cases of Gurkhas should not be referred to the Foreigners’ Tribunals for opinion as to whether the person is a “foreigner” within the meaning of the Foreigners Act, 1946.
Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/gurkhas-in-assam-cant-be-detained/article25185621.ece

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