In first known use of 1950 Act, Assam orders 5 people to leave India within 24 hours: What is this law

In the first known invocation of the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950 , since the state cabinet approved its implementation earlier this year, the Sonitpur district administration has issued orders directing five people – who had been declared foreigners by a tribunal this year – to “remove” themselves from India within 24 hours.

Following the issue of these orders on Tuesday, police said their whereabouts are unknown and that they are “absconding”. Locals said they left the area and have not lived there for over a decade. The five people include four women and a man.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been pushing for the use of the 1950 law for months. In June, he said his government had decided to use the law to “push back” into Bangladesh people whom dist