What is a Foreigners Tribunal (FT)?

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About Foreigners Tribunals:

These are quasi-judicial bodies formed through the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order of 1964 under Section 3 of the Foreigners’ Act of 1946, to let local authorities in a State refer a person suspected to be a foreigner to tribunals.
The FTs are currently exclusive to Assam as cases of “illegal immigrants” are dealt with according to the Foreigners’ Act in other States.
Composition: Each FT is headed by a member drawn from judges, advocates, and civil servants with judicial experience.
The Ministry of Home Affairs told Parliament in 2021 that there are 300 FTs in Assam but the website of the State’s Home and Political Department says that only 100 FTs are currently functioning, beginning with 11 established before the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act of 1983 was scrapped in 2005.
Functioning
- According to the 1964 order, an FT has the powers of a civil court in certain matters such as summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him or her on oath and requiring the production of any document.
- A tribunal is required to serve a notice in English or the official language of the State to a person alleged to be a foreigner within 10 days of receiving the reference from the authority concerned.
- Such a person has 10 days to reply to the notice and another 10 days to produce evidence in support of his or her case.
- An FT has to dispose of a case within 60 days of reference. If the person fails to provide any proof of citizenship, the FT can send him or her to a detention centre, now called transit camp, for deportation later.

Q1: What are Tribunals?

Tribunals are judicial or quasi-judicial institutions established by law. They intend to provide a platform for faster adjudication as compared to traditional courts, as well as expertise on certain subject matters.

Source: How do Assam’s Foreigners Tribunals function? | Explained