Punjab and Haryana High Court seeks affidavit on SOP for verification of migrants

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday called for an affidavit clarifying whether the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on illegal foreign nationals was publicly available on its website.

The direction by the Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Ramesh Kumari came during the hearing of a petition filed by Nirmal Gorana against the state of Haryana seeking directions to the authorities concerned to formulate proper guidelines/standard operating procedure for verification of documents of migrant workers in Haryana.

Directions were also sought to immediately cease the arbitrary and illegal detention of bona fide Indian citizens in Gurugram on vague and unsubstantiated grounds. The petitioner also prayed for an independent inquiry into “the police misconduct and arbitrariness in the garb of verification drive conducted in Gurugram” in addition to the rehabilitation of the “innocent victims of the arbitrary and highhanded action of the local police authorities”.

The petitioner contended that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in May issued instructions to state governments and union territories to constitute Special Task Forces in every district to identify and deport illegal Bangladeshi migrants within 30 days.

“However, no information is available as to how these illegal migrants were to be identified and separated from bona fide citizens,” the petition added.

The petitioner’s counsel during the course of hearing submitted that “hundreds of migrants” were rounded up despite possessing Aadhaar, voter cards, ration cards, and other proofs of parentage. They were allegedly confined in community centres in “inhumane conditions”, and denied access to families or lawyers. He also quoted instances where they were not released even after verification by the West Bengal police and local panchayats.

Arguing that no comprehensive procedure was available in the public domain, the counsel for the petitioner submitted that apparently the SOP or instructions were nowhere available on the Ministry of Home Affairs website.

The state counsel, however, countered that detailed instructions had been issued by the Centre in 2009, 2011, 2016, and 2025. He also referred to the Foreigners Act of 1946, where specific procedures had been laid down.

The Bench observed that the court would first have to examine the SOP itself before assessing its reasonableness. “Please produce that SOP, if it is available on the website, or say so on an affidavit that it is not available,” the Bench asserted before adjourning the hearing.