Supreme Court agrees to hear pleas on the status of Rohingyas as ‘refugees', their deportation
A three-judge Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant said it would devote three days to hear the case extensively, saying once this question was answered authoritatively, the consequences would flow automatically.
The primary questions recorded by the Court, as raised by petitioners who are Rohingya people living in camps in the national capital, represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan and senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, include protections available to the Rohingyas in India if they were entitled to be declared as refugees. Or, on the other hand, if they were not refugees but illegal immigrants, whether the action of the government in deporting them was justified.
Mr. Bhushan said the petitions, some of which dated back to 2013, had also highlighted the prolonged detention suffered by persons, including Rohingyas, after being declared as foreigners in States such as Assam. The Bench agreed to hear arguments on whether persons, including illegal entrants to India, could be detained indefinitely.
The Court said it would also hear submissions on the living conditions and availability of basic amenities in Rohingya camps.
'The first issue is whether they are refugees or illegal immigrants. Rest is consequential,' Justice Kant remarked.
In an earlier hearing in May, the apex court had observed that if the Rohingyas were found to be 'foreigners' under the Foreigners Act, they would be dealt with by the Centre in accordance with law.
The petitioners have challenged the Centre's power to deport Rohingyas. They argued that the Rohingyas had been identified as 'refugees' by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). They had constitutional protection against deportation to Myanmar. The petitioners claimed non-refoulement, saying the Rohingyas would be tortured and killed if they were deported to Myanmar, which had anyway declared them 'stateless'.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, had submitted that India was not a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees. He had referred to an interim order passed by the Supreme Court that the government's power under Section 3 of the Foreigners Act to issue orders to 'prohibit, regulate, restrict entry or departure of foreigners' was absolute and unlimited, especially when national security concerns were in play. Mr. Mehta said Article 51(c), which emphasises respect for international law, could be pressed by the petitioners as long as they were in consonance with the domestic law.
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