Rohingya crisis: SC to hear plea against deportation on December 5

The Supreme Court today said it would next month hear the plea of two Rohingya refugees who have approached it against the Centre's decision to deport Rohinigya Muslims to Myanmar.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud agreed to the request of senior advocate Fali S nariman, who appeared for the Rohingyas, and deferred the matter for hearing on December 5. The apex court had on October 13 said the Rohingya refugee problem was of a "great magnitude" and the state would have to play a "big role" while dealing with the contentious issue. Two Rohingya immigrants Mohammad Salimullah and Mohammad Shaqir had approached the apex court opposing the Centre's decision to deport over 40,000 refugees who came to India after escaping from Myanmar due to widespread discrimination, violence and bloodshed against the community there.

Various other petitions, including those by former RSS ideologue and Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan leader K N Govindacharaya, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of of the CPI(M), the West Bengal child rights body, and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, have been filed in the apex court on the issue. The top court had earlier decided to give a detailed and holistic hearing from today on the government's decision to deport Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar, observing that a balance has to be struck between national interest and human rights as the issue involved national security, economic interests and humanity.
The court had suggested to the Centre not to deport these refugees but the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta had urged that it should not be written in the order as anything coming on record would have international ramifications.

The top court had made it clear that in case any contingency arose during the intervening period, the petitioners have the liberty to approach it for redressal. The Rohingyas, who fled to India after violence in the Western Rakhine State of Myanmar, were settled in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan. In a communication to all states, the union home ministry had said the rise of terrorism in last few decades had become a serious concern for most nations as illegal migrants were prone to recruitment by terrorist organisations. It had directed the state governments to set up a task force at district level to identify and deport illegally- staying foreign nationals.