India SC wants to know govt stance on Rohingya deportation

India's Supreme Court has sought to know the stance of the federal government on a petition challenging its decision to deport illegal Rohingya Muslim immigrants who face religious persecution in Myanmar.

The matter came up yesterday before a bench of India's Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud which asked Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to take instructions from the federal government about its response to the petition which has challenged the deportation decision on various grounds including that it violated international human right conventions.

While the bench posted the matter for September 11, advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for two Rohingya immigrants Mohd Salimullah and Mohd Shaqir, wanted an assurance that during the pendency of the petition, the government will not take any step including deportation of the immigrants.

However, Mehta made it clear that he was not making any statement.

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The bench asked the petitioner to hand over a copy of the petition and relevant documents pertaining to the matter to the government's law officer.

Attacks allegedly by Myanmarese army security personnel have triggered an exodus of Rohingyas from western Rakhine state in that country to Bangladesh and India.

Many of them, who had fled to India after the spate of violence in the past, have settled in Indian states including Jammu and Kashmir Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and its adjoining areas, Rajasthan and the southern city of Hyderabad.

The plea, filed by two Rohingya immigrants, Salimullah and Shaqir, who are registered Rohingya refugees under the United Nations High Commission of Refugees (UNHCR), claimed they had taken shelter in India after escaping from Myanmar due to widespread discrimination, violence and bloodshed against the community there.

"The proposed deportation is contrary to the constitutional protections of Article 14 (Right to Equality), Article 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty) and Article 51(c) of the Constitution of India which provides equal rights and liberty to every person," the petition contended.

"This act would also be in contradiction with the principle of 'Non-Refoulement', which has been widely recognised as a principle of Customary International Law," the plea said seeking a direction to the government not to deport them and other members of Rohingya community.

It said that India has ratified and is a signatory to various conventions that recognise the Principle of "Non-Refoulement' which prohibits deportation of refugees to a country where they may face threat to their lives.

The principle of non-refoulement – or not sending back refugees to a place where they face danger – is considered part of customary international law and is binding on all states whether they have signed the Refugee Convention or not, the petition argued.

The petition further said that India has traditionally been hospitable host of refugees and displaced people both from South Asia and across the world.

It has also sought a direction that Rohingyas be provided "basic amenities to ensure that they can live in human conditions as required by international law".

The Indian government had raised "serious concern" over reports of renewed violence and attacks in Myanmar and extended its "strong" support to the Myanmarese government at this "challenging moment".

On August 18, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had issued a notice asking the federal government about its plan to deport the Rohingya immigrants who are residing in various parts of India.