Re-looking issue of inner line permit for Assam, Centre to SC

New Delhi, Aug. 31 (IANS): The Centre on Monday informed the Supreme Court that it is having a comprehensive re-look at the Adaptation of Laws (Amendment) Order 2019, where Assam has been excluded from the ‘Inner Line’ system.

The response from the Centre’s top law officer, Attorney General K.K. Venugopal came during the hearing of a plea challenging the 2019 order.

A bench of Chief Justice S.A. Bobde, and Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian gave four weeks to the Centre on the request of the AG, who sought some more time on the matter in view of the re-look. The top court had earlier issued notice on the matter.

In June, the apex court had declined to stay the operation of a Presidential order, which the petitioners claimed, deprived Assam the powers to notify its districts as Inner Line areas and limit the applicability of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The Inner Line system provides protection to local residents when it comes to land, jobs and other facilities, and Assam, after declaring this, could have restricted a class of citizens from entering these areas, argued the petitioners – the All Tai Ahom Students Union and its Assistant Secretary Gojen Gogoi.

They had sought that the top court stay the Adaptation of Laws (Amendment) Order, 2019, issued by the President to amend the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR), 1873, as the BEFR gave power to the state to declare most of its districts as Inner Line areas.

An Inner Line Permit is a must if outsiders, including people of other states, wish to visit a state which has Inner Line rules in place. “It was well-known fact to the Central government that state of Assam is facing tremendous problem due to huge influx of illegal immigrants and under such a situation, bringing Adaptation of Laws (Amendment) Order 2019 so as to deprive the state of Assam from the applicability of Section 6B (4) of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 is in sheer violation of Articles 14, 21, 29, 325, 326 and 355 of the Constitution,” said the petition.