State cannot afford to ignore illegal immigration now as it may create institutional vulnerabilities later, says Karnataka High Court

Observing that the “State cannot afford to be indifferent to unlawful immigration, for indifference today may become an institutional vulnerability tomorrow,” the High Court of Karnataka has quashed two criminal cases registered against a medical practitioner-cum-social worker by illegal Bangladeshi immigrants as a “retaliatory counterblast” to his act of reporting their unlawful stay in the city to the police.

Stating that illegal immigration must be addressed with firmness, the court directed the State and the Union governments to ensure the constitution and operationalisation of district-level committees for dealing with cases of illegal immigration strictly in consonance with Ministry of Home Affairs’ Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued in May 2025.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order while allowing the two petitions filed by Nagendrappa T., against whom two Bangladeshi nationals filed complaints of alleged assault soon after the police station reported to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) for their detention for illegal immigration in July 2026.

The police had reported to the FRRO about illegal immigration of the complainant Bangladeshi nationals, who were staying in various labourer sheds, acting on the information provided by the petitioner.

Challenge to sovereignty

“...illegal immigration is a bane which is not merely an infraction of the laws regulating entry into and residence within the territory of the nation. It presents a challenge to the sovereignty of the State, the integrity of its borders and the efficacy of its internal security apparatus,” the court said, while pointing out “illegal immigration may facilitate identity fraud, exploitation by trafficking syndicates, organised criminal networks and other unlawful activities, besides placing unforeseen pressures upon public infrastructure, welfare administration and the legitimate distribution of public resources.”

“The State must ensure that allegations of unauthorised immigration are dealt with promptly, uniformly and strictly in accordance with law,” the court said, while observing that neither administrative apathy nor indiscriminate action can be countenanced.

“Persons found to be staying in India without lawful authority must be dealt with under the applicable statutory and executive framework; equally, no person can be deprived of the protection of law merely on account of nationality or immigration status,” the court made it clear.

‘Strange’ action of police

The court found it strange the action of the police in curtailing petitioner’s liberty by detaining him for a day by registering the FIRs against him on the complaints of illegal immigrants barely a few minutes after reporting the very same complainants to the FRRO.

Pointing out that though the police cannot deny registration of criminal case based on a complaint filed by persons merely because they were unauthorised immigrants, the court said that the records in the cases clearly demonstrates that the complaints against the petitioner was initiated as a retaliatory weapon.

Meanwhile, noticing lack of information about establishment and functioning of the district level committees in terms of the SOP in Karnataka, the court set three months deadline for operationalising committees and submit a report in this regard to the court.