The Supreme Court decided on Thursday to hear an urgent petition to free and secure over 150 Rohingya refugees who were allegedly “detained” in Jammu.
On April 25, Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde decided to hear an application submitted by a Rohingya group member, Mohammad Salimullah, represented by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Cheryl d’Souza (Thursday). Bhushan made an oral plea for an early hearing before the CJI.
The court, which also included Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian, confirmed that the Rohingya case would be heard on Thursday.
A petition was filed in the Supreme Court demanding the immediate release of detained Rohingya refugees in Jammu, as well as a directive to the Centre to issue refugee id cards to Rohingyas in camps via the FRRO.
The case, filed via Bhushan by Rohingya refugee Mohammad Salimullah, sought a guidance from the Supreme Court to the government to refrain from enforcing any instructions on deporting the Rohingya refugees detained in the Jammu sub-jail.
According to the petition, the refugees were in extreme danger of being deported due to a government circular directing relevant authorities to locate and expel undocumented Rohingya refugees as soon as possible. “It (petition) is filed in the public interest in order to secure and protect the petitioner refugees’ right against deportation in India, as well as to protect constitutional guarantees under Article 14 and Article 21, read with Article 51(c) of the Indian Constitution, against the deportation of Rohingya refugees who have taken refuge in India after fleeing widespread violence, bloodshed, and dissent.”
The petition urged the Supreme Court to order the UNHCR to intervene and assess the security needs of Rohingya refugees not only in Jammu but also in camps around the region, as well as to complete the process of issuing them refugee cards. According to news reports this month, nearly 150-170 Rohingya refugees are being detained in Jammu. The petitioner claimed that this was in reaction to Union Minister Jitendra Singh’s comments two months earlier that Rohingyas would not be eligible to acquire citizenship.
“There is currently no law in India that expressly applies to refugees. As a result, in practice, it has often lumped Rohingya refugees in with the category of illegal immigrants who can be deported by the government under the Foreigners Act of 1946 and the Foreigners Order of 1948 “It said.
