Indian national first to be deported from UK under new illegal migration scheme
London (PTI): An Indian national who reportedly arrived in the UK illegally on a small boat across the English Channel became the first to be deported to France under a new treaty on Thursday.
The unnamed man who is said to have arrived in early August has been flown out to Paris on a commercial flight from Heathrow Airport under the so-called “one-in, one-out” deal struck recently as part of a UK-France returns treaty.
UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood dubbed it an “important first step” in the government’s attempt to clamp down on soaring illegal migration perpetuated by people smugglers across the Channel.
“This is an important first step to securing our borders. It sends a message to people crossing in small boats: if you enter the UK illegally, we will seek to remove you,” said Mahmood.
“I will continue to challenge any last-minute, vexatious attempts to frustrate a removal in the courts. The UK will always play its part in helping those genuinely fleeing persecution, but this must be done through safe, legal, and managed routes – not dangerous crossings,” she said.
Home Office sources confirmed that the deported man was an Indian national, who is expected to be offered a paid-for voluntary return to his home country once back in France. He would not be able to apply for asylum and could go on to face enforced deportation if he did not take up the voluntary scheme.
The development came after official Home Office figures released in August claimed that Indian nationals in detention as part of the UK’s wider crackdown on illegal immigration had almost doubled in the past year, up 108 per cent. According to the data, 2,715 Indians were logged as being in detention under the UK’s immigration law breach.
The man to be deported on Thursday is among the first batch of migrants detained by the UK Border Force under the new treaty, which came into force in August as a pilot scheme to run until June 2026.
While further returns or deportations are planned on flights in the coming days, the first arrivals from France through the new asylum route under the reciprocal scheme are expected in the UK in the coming days, the Home Office said.
It said the new scheme enables the UK authorities to detain and remove people who enter illegally via small boats, blocking their access to the country’s asylum system in an effort to reduce the burden on hotel accommodation.
In return, the UK will accept an equal number of migrants through a newly established safe and legal route, subject to what the Home Office termed as “rigorous documentation, eligibility, and security checks”.
“The Home Secretary has made clear that the Home Office will robustly defend legal challenges to removal. Today we will lodge an appeal to the Court of Appeal to limit the time the person has to provide evidence for reconsideration,” the Home Office said.
It claims over 35,000 individuals with no legal right to remain in the UK have been returned in the past year, with returns of foreign criminals and asylum-related returns rising by 14 per cent and 28 per cent respectively.
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SC to hear on May 4 PIL seeking stringent guidelines for issuing Aadhaar to adolescents, adults
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking a direction to the Unique Identification Authority of India to issue new Aadhaar cards only to citizens up to the age of six years, and frame stringent guidelines for its issuance to adolescents and adults to stop infiltrators from masquerading as Indian citizens.
As per the apex court's causelist of May 4, the plea would come up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay has also sought a direction to the authorities to install display boards at common service centres stating that the 12-digit unique identification number is only a "proof of identity" and not a proof of citizenship, address or date of birth.
Besides all the states and Union Territories, the plea has made the UIDAI -- which is the authority that issues Aadhaar -- and the Union ministries of home, law and justice, and electronics and information technology as parties.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, said Aadhaar, originally intended as a proof of identity, has increasingly become a "foundational document" enabling individuals to obtain other identification documents, such as ration cards, domicile certificates and voter identity cards.
"The UIDAI has issued 144 crore Aadhaar and 99 percent Indians have been enrolled. Therefore, the petitioner is filing this writ petition as a PIL under Article 32, seeking a direction to UIDAI to issue new Aadhaar to children only and frame new stringent guidelines for adolescents and adults, so as to stop infiltrators from getting it and masquerading as Indian citizens," the plea said.
It said the need to file the plea arose when the petitioner came to know the manner in which infiltrators are able to procure Aadhaar through a verification process that is weak and can be easily manipulated.
"Foreigners apply for Aadhaar under the 'foreign' category. But infiltrators apply for Aadhaar under the 'Indian citizen' category and get it easily made. Thereafter, they obtain a ration card, birth and domicile certificate, driving licence, et cetera, essentially becoming indistinguishable from Indian citizens…," it said.
Besides seeking other directions, the plea has raised legal questions, including whether the Aadhaar Act 2016 has become "temporally unreasonable" for failing to keep up with the legislative intent of distinguishing foreigners from Indian citizens.
It said the alleged misuse of Aadhaar undermines targeted welfare delivery and leads to diversion of public resources.
