NSF panel seeks statutory ILP commission and stronger enforcement, citing 644 defaulters detected and limited follow-up in government records.
DIMAPUR — Hundreds of people were detected allegedly violating Nagaland’s Inner Line Pass (ILP) requirements during checking drives in 2026, but the enforcement action that followed appears limited, according to a compilation of government records by the Inner Line Regulation Commission (ILRC) of Naga Students' Federation (NSF).
The commission, in a 17-page representation submitted to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Thursday, stated that its review of 1,490 pages of records obtained through the Right to Information Act found 644 ILP defaulters detected during police checks over two days in April, while only one removal was recorded in the material made available to it.
It called for an overhaul of the ILP enforcement mechanism, including the constitution of an autonomous Nagaland Inner Line Regulation Commission through legislation, restoration of checkpoints, a centralised entry-and-exit register and stronger coordination between departments.
The ‘consolidated recommendations’ were based on a two-day national seminar on the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR), 1873, held in Dimapur in August, it stated.
Also read: Article 371A provides context for ILP restrictions — SC advocate
According to the NSF panel, it had sought information from Home department and all 17 district administrations in May 2026, besides referring to earlier RTI applications made in August 2025. It stated that the records, together with government committee reports and other documents, showed “serious gaps” between detection and enforcement.
Per the panel, Nagaland Police checked more than 1,900 passes on April 10 and 11 following the Assam Assembly elections and the Mokokchung bye-election. It stated that 436 defaulters were detected on April 10 and another 208 on April 11, with the cases forwarded to district administrations.
In another example, the commission said Zunheboto recorded 78 persons without valid passes during a single checking drive on June 9, 2025. The district's reply, it added, recorded no fine collection, deportation or pending case from that drive.
Chümoukedima reported 146 defaulters, according to the representation, adding that the district reported that no fine was collected because undertakings were taken from the defaulters to apply for passes within a stipulated period.
The panel also highlighted ‘discrepancies’ in routine enforcement returns. It stated that Phek had submitted monthly returns covering 48 consecutive months from June 2022 to May 2026, but the sections relating to defaulters, arrests, prosecutions, deportations and illegal foreigners were either left blank or marked with dashes throughout the period.
The same district, however, reportedly recorded 51 persons detected, 18 fined and INR 15,500 collected elsewhere in its response to the NSF's RTI application.
The commission said nine of the 17 district administrations—Dimapur, Kohima, Niuland, Wokha, Mon, Longleng, Shamator, Kiphire and Peren—did not furnish information in response to its applications.
It further cited a Home department annexure containing enforcement reports from some of those districts, including a January 2025 special drive in Niuland that reportedly recorded 144 defaulters and a May 2025 checking exercise in Kohima covering 110 persons.
The panel also analysed 8,149 individual permit records supplied by Chümoukedima. According to its analysis, 82.8% of the permits were issued to people from Assam, with Nagaon, Morigaon, Hojai, Barpeta and Karimganj among the leading districts of origin.
Labourers accounted for 4,643 records, or 57% of the total, followed by traders with 2,052 and students with 924.
The representation stated that 6,156 of the 8,149 permits were issued during June and July 2025, accounting for about three-fourths of the records examined. It cautioned that the pattern could reflect either clearance of an accumulated backlog following the online rollout or limitations in the continuity of the registers.
It raised questions over the implementation of the state Cabinet's decision of May 14, 2025 to establish a multi-departmental ILP enforcement directorate, stating that it had not found a notification constituting the directorate, naming its head, specifying sanctioned strength or identifying a budget head in the records supplied to it.
The panel has consequently sought that the Cabinet decision be implemented within 90 days as an interim measure pending creation of the proposed statutory commission.
Among its 22 recommendations, the NSF panel has called for a central register recording the holder, purpose, validity, guarantor, entry and exit of every pass; annual publication of district-wise enforcement data; restoration and staffing of checking points; and ILP verification counters at Dimapur airport and railway station.
It has also sought written authorisations under Section 6 of the BEFR to enable designated police officers to arrest and produce persons found beyond the Inner Line without a pass or those violating pass conditions.
Other proposals include linking trade licences with ILP validity; notifying an officer to exercise powers under Section 7 of the Regulation concerning acquisition of interests in land; strengthening the guarantor system; amending Sections 3 and 4 to raise the existing maximum fine of INR 1,000’ and applying conditions under Section 4 in the interim to provide for cancellation or debarment where permitted by law.
The commission has sought a written response from the government within 30 days, stating the status of each of its 22 recommendations. It also proposed a joint review meeting with the Home department and the commissioner.
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