cannot be deported to another country they are not nationals of. The detention period capped at two years amounts to arbitrary detention since it does not serve any legitimate purpose. 108 SECTION I.A.2 In the case of stateless persons on Indian territory, deportation is an impossibility for the want of nationality. Despite this paradox, Indian practice presumes deportation of ‘foreigners’ to be a viable possibility, thereby allowing the state to detain stateless persons to facilitate deportation, as in the case of Sheikh Abdul Aziz.184 The detention of stateless persons for deportation would also run the risk of becoming arbitrary since they enjoy marginal access to rights and could remain in detention indefinitely. Furthermore, this position cannot be accepted since India lacks any semblance of a deportation policy which may effectuate the stated goals of the law. Observing the said discrepancy, the Supreme Court in the case of Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha directed the government to draft regulations on deportation to prevent undue delays.185 Determination of a person’s nationality along with a bilateral arrangement with the concerned state to send back its alleged citizens constitutes a sine qua non to achieve the goal of deportation. In the absence of procedures to ensure either, deportation can no longer be sustained as a ‘legitimate aim’ for detaining stateless persons or precarious citizens. A.2 Proportionality It is also important to bear in mind the responsibility of the state to consider the applicability and feasibility of less restrictive measures and alternatives to detention before resorting to detention.186 This is in line with the principle of proportionality vis-à-vis administrative detention, which requires 184  Sheikh Abdul Aziz v State (2015) W.P.(CRL) 1426/2013 (Delhi High Court). 185  Assam Sanmilita Mahasangha and Others v Union of India and Others (2017) SCC OnLine SC 1878 [38]. 186  A v Australia Communication No. 560/1993 CCPR/C/59/D/560/1993 [9.2]. See also UN Commission on Human Rights ‘Report On The Visit Of The Working Group To The United Kingdom On The Issue Of Immigrants And Asylum Seekers’ (18 December 1998) UN Doc E/CN.4/1999/63/Add.3 para 33. SECURING CITIZENSHIP