Jharkhand High Court Criticizes State Govt Over Bungled Affidavits in Immigration Case

The Jharkhand High Court criticized the state government for failing to file proper affidavits in a PIL regarding illegal immigration from Bangladesh affecting the social demographics of Santhal Pargana districts. The court found that affidavits were filed by unauthorized officers and ordered them to be resubmitted, emphasizing the gravity of the issue.

The Jharkhand High Court took the state government to task on Thursday for submitting improper affidavits in relation to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) claiming that illegal immigration from Bangladesh was impacting the social demography of the Santhal Pargana districts.

Previously, a division bench of Chief Justice Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad had directed the deputy commissioners of Deoghar, Pakur, Dumka, Sahibganj, Godda, and Jamtara to report on the situation in their districts.

In a scathing response, the court noted that the affidavits were submitted by subordinate officers instead of the DCs, rejecting them and ordering fresh submissions. The bench underscored the serious nature of the issue, accusing the officers of misleading the court.

The PIL alleges that illegal immigration from Bangladesh is disrupting the social demographics of Santhal Pargana districts, with immigrants marrying locals to obtain land. On July 3, the court had instructed the state government to take immediate measures to repatriate illegal immigrants.