Abstract: This research paper delves inside India has been marking its approach towards the influx of immigrants and refugees through long arrays of legal battles on the contentious issue of immigration laws and policies. The country has a complex legal system, accompanied by the socio-cultural heterogeneity, is the reason which has led to a lot of heat before the deportation and detention cases in India which in turn has brought before many courts. A large number of court cases are tied to the 2019 Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which seeks to fast-track Indian citizenship for most non-Muslim refugees from Muslim-majority countries in the neighbourhood. The law prompted mass protests and legal challenges, with critics saying that it was religious discrimination and ran counter to the secular nature of India’s constitution. The question of constitutional validity of CAA is set to go before the Supreme Court for final decision. A third contentious area is the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, including those from Myanmar and Afghanistan. India, too, is a non-signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, even as its long frontier with the North is used occasionally by terrorists from Pakistan and Bangladesh to infiltrate into and stage attacks against Indian targets. Human rights groups have become alarmed at the arrest and potential deportation of Rohingya refugees and legal interventions have been filed. Detention centres for illegal immigrants as well as the establishment and conditions thereof have additionally been subject to legal challenges. Court actions have addressed the detention of immigrants without adequate legal representation, and the substandard conditions of confinement such as excessive crowding, inadequate sanitation and medical care, prolonged periods of detention, and poor record keeping. The legal fights go deeper: to the identification and expulsion of illegal immigrants, with arguments over biometric data, the rights of long-term residents and how they would affect families. Decisions by the US Supreme Court in these areas have critical implications for immigration law and enforcement throughout the country. Even as India seeks to find its way through the complex maze of immigration, the road ahead may be paved with legal battles that reform not just public discourse, but laws that are in consonance with both national interest and humanitarian consideration, in keeping with the principles of equity and natural justice human rights.
Keywords: India, detention centres, refugees, immigration laws, human rights, deportation, citizenship, legal battles.
Introduction
Immigration laws and policies in India have been a controversial and dynamic area since the beginning. The legal battles of various hues have shaped and reshaped the discourse on this multi-dimensional issue. The approach of the country toward immigration has been historical, ever-changing political landscapes, changing economic consideration, and social dynamics. Accordingly, this introduction will give an overview of the legal battles in relation to immigration policies in India.
Immigration policies in India are mainly laid down in the Foreigners Act of 1946, the Citizenship Act of 1955, and the Registration of Foreigners Act of 1939. These acts, which go back to the British Raj, have been subject to many changes and variations over the period. The Foreigners Act gives enormous powers to the central government to control the entry, period of stay, and exit of foreigners from India while interestingly it also provides many protections right away. The Citizenship Act is the authority which lays down the criteria for acquiring Indian citizenship.
One of the most important legal battles of recent years was fought over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) of 2019. The CAA sought to fast-track claims to Indian citizenship by non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, who, according to the Indian government, were fleeing persecution on grounds of religious beliefs. In its preliminary stages of inception, the very Act witnessed much furore and was challenged legally in the Supreme Court of India by naysayers who argued that it impugned the basic structure of the Constitution, as any law which contained provisions that could be linked with the discriminatory treatment of religious groups had to be seen as having the potential to prove unconstitutional. In 2022, the Supreme Court of India started to hear a challenge to the constitutional validity of the CAA based on multiple petitions. Their judgment would settle important aspects concerning the immigration law in India and its secular character.
One of the more debated issues has been the under the bar people’s list or the National Register of Citizens (NRC) update exercise in the state of Assam. The NRC wanted to understand who can be regarded as an immigrant from Bangladesh and deport those with no right to be in Assam. However, the process was not easy, as the refugees faced legal problems, accusations of human rights abuses, and complications. Having observed the process of the NRC update, the Supreme Court of India has attempted to address the issue of tackling illegal immigrants while at the same time ensuring that genuine citizens’ rights are observed. The legal cases also formed around immigration policies have also affected refugees and asylum seekers in India. Thus, while India has ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention, it allows no comprehensive legal framework to address the issue of refugees. The principle of non-refoulement, for example, has been administered mostly by the Supreme Court and its significance has not been in doubt.
Similarly, the situation of migrant workers in India has come more prominently to the centre stage due to COVID 19 where many of them lost job, mobility and access to essentials services/ support structures. Because essential workers including migrants are vulnerable during the COVID 19 crisis, the Supreme Court has stepped in to protect their rights.
The matters related to the legal proceedings of the immigration policies have also included several other actors such as civil society organizations and human rights groups, as well as, international actors. They have also been escalated to the area of labour migration and the rights of the migrant workers where various issues regarding full implementation of certain laws such as the Interstate Migrant Workmen Act of 1979 and the Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act of 2008 have been debated. Since then, there have also been voicing or talking in vocal or argumentative fashion and also discourses in relation to various administrative polices of immigration in conjunction with some of the following: National security, cultural majority and social harmony. These debates have happened in the political and media domains and concerning public discourses that sometimes-entailed relations with legal cases and judicial decisions.
Therefore, while India strives to meet these challenging but commendable tasks, the legal framework that comprises the courts system, will continue to play an important role in upholding the Constitution and human rights, even as it balances national security and human interest. Immigration laws remain a significant area of dispute in India, primarily because this matter remains an evolving and complex concept that affects several facets in society.
Research Methodology
This paper is of descriptive nature and for this purpose, documents and records from governmental and judicial departments was used along with relevant managerial reports from journalistic reports and academic papers from reputed journals along with other substantial news publications. This paper set out with the intention of providing an overview by using the main literature sources based on primary research including case laws, legislation and secondary sources that put together key legal cases, and impacts of immigration policies in India.
Review of literature
Among all proposed amendment to the Immigration Act, The Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 has been considered as the most contentious one. It will also sought to offer a route to naturalisation for other non-Muslim faith communities hailing from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. This was considered as the law that violates the secularism principle of India since it discriminates on the bases of religion. There rises several constitutional issues over the CAA that make way for petitions and Supreme Court hearings in 2022.
The NRC process in Assam carried out with an exercise of framing the list of residents for deportation of the illegal immigrants also fell into several legal issues and Human rights issues. To address the concern on the rights of non-citizens, the Supreme Court closely supervised to ensure that the illegals were identified as well as entitled citizens’ rights were not violated. The industry also noted that the NRC process became a political issue which led to people especially from the minority being denied citizenship. The place of legal argumentation during discussions of the principle of proving the citizenship, the procedures of appeals of the foreigners’ status, and the issues of detention of individuals with the status of ‘non-citizen’.
India has no codified laws that deal with refugees since it has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention. Hitherto, there has been legal proceedings linking the status of refugees and asylum seekers in Ghana. Another important principle that the Supreme Court has been involved in, is non-refoulement, with reference to deportation of refugees, including the Rohingya population.
The outbreak of COVID-19 made migrant workers in India conspicuous, many were fired, became trapped in cities during lock-downs and were denied basic amenities. This crisis found Supreme Court as an actor in order to safeguard rights of migrant workers. Some legal issues also have been claimed in relation with laws like the Interstate Migrant Workmen Act 1979 and the Unorganized Workers Social Security Act 2008 concerning their rights in social security, decent work, and wages.
Non-governmental organizations and human rights organization have been very instrumental in the fight for the rights of the immigrants and normally take the status of petitioners or interveners in the case. These litigations go far beyond legal principles and address issues of security, people’s identity, and integration. Issues about immigration are high on the political agenda, media and discussions and legal decisions over such issues and their nature are also shaped by the former.
Suggestions And Conclusion
The literature review also points out the necessity of the developed immigration and refugee law in India. India has signed international conventions but does not have any domestic laws to tackle the issues as and when arises for refugees and immigration. The kind of law would not only introduce proper procedures but also try to fulfill the protection of human rights and give legal security to all categories of people which are affected.
Another recommendation is strengthening administrative and judicial practice with regard to fair and efficient proceedings in immigration cases. This entails simplification of bureaucratic processes, supply of sufficient equipment and resources for officials dealing with immigration issues, and ensuring that people facing immigration issues are can get relief measures such as right to appeal to courts of law.
The issue of human rights and non-discrimination comes out as a significant component, since many cases examined involved claims of infringement of human rights, such as religious, ethnic, or persons of a certain economic status. Ensuring the non discrimination of all people in immigration decision-making is crucial regardless of the individuals’ background. This could be made through the measures like sensitization as well as training of the authorities, proper conducts of monitoring and surveillance and proper procedures of addressing human rights abuses.
The role suggested agrees with research proposals that recommend the multi-sectorial approach when handling immigration matters. Consulting civil society organisations, international organisations and the communities is essential as they play an important role in influencing the policies and practices.
Last but not the least, the literature points towards the large sociopolitical issues that are related to immigration policies and the court cases that are shaped because of them. One cannot sugar coat matters like national security, cultural and/or ethnic identity, as well as social harmony. These are crucial elements in key societal aspects of immigration, such as the creation of conversation and civility with people from diverse backgrounds as well as the maintenance of social cohesion for the development of citizenship.
In conclusion a short analysis of the articles describing legal judgments connected to immigration legislation within India also indicates that this process is an exceptionally intricate one. These fights have been in relation to citizenship and immigration laws, and refugees’ rights, migrant workers as well as the population in general. Some of the facets of litigations included the government as well as the courts, other civil societies and international institutions.
The Indian judiciary has a major role to play as regards intended constitutionalism and rights protection though it has been severely weakened by lack of sufficiently complementary legal change for addressing sustained difficulties and concerns. Thus , the need for improvement of the immigration and refugee law through clear unambiguous procedures put forward along with protection of human rights are underlined in the literature which in turn would lead to the enhancement of legal security.
Lastly, literature points at the necessity to increase administrative legal treatments, to refer to human rights and anti discriminations, addressing to several organizations and other societal matters related to immigration. Such efforts might help change the current bias of attract attention to be more fair, reasonable, reasonable, and non-prejudiced toward the enforcement of immigration laws.
Last but not the least, the legal aspects relative to immigration policies in India also point to the fact that this issue is quite dynamic and cuts across a broad spectrum of discipline’s including human rights, security, and social integration systems. Thus, as it continues to struggle through these challenges India, the ideas and recommendations which are presented in the literature could really help the lawmakers, jurists, civil society and the governmental actors and decisions makers to not only protect human rights and human dignity of every person, as well as uphold the rights of the state and the society as much as possible.
Name- Barsha Saha
Amity University , Kolkata