The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed an application to restrain the government from taking steps to deport Rohingya refugees lodged in jails or detention centres in Assam or other parts of the country.
A Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justices S.K. Kaul and K.M. Joseph refused to intervene in a plea made by Mohammed Salimullah, speaking through advocate Prashant Bhushan, that a United Nations officer must be allowed to first talk to the seven men who are lodged in Silchar Central Jail in Assam.
Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the government, submitted the men were "illegal immigrants" and negotiations were held with Myanmar to take them back.
"Mr. Bhushan, the government is saying most of them are illegal and the country of origin has accepted them..." Chief Justice Gogoi addressed the lawyer.
Mr. Bhushan argued that the men were among thousand who had fled mass killings, "unimaginable torture" and persecution in Myanmar.
"They have escaped the worst kind of genocide... they are Stateless. It is wrong to say they are 'illegal immigrants' when the UN itself describes them as refugees... Let a UN officer go talk to them first... if they still want to go back, let them," Mr. Bhushan submitted.
But Chief Justice decided to dismiss the petition when Mr. Bhushan pointed out that it is the constitutional responsibility of the court to protect life.
"Mr. Bhushan, you don't have to remind us of our responsibility... we are aware of it," Chief Justice Gogoi retorted.
Mr. Salimullah is also the lead petitioner in a public interest litigation against a proposed government move in 2017 to deport over 40,000 Rohingya people.
The application had quoted media reports to submit that subsequent to negotiations with the Myanmar government, the Centre would be refouling these men to Myanmar on October 4, 2018.
The seven men are identified as Mohammad Youns, Sabbir Ahamed, Mohammad Jalal, Mohammad Salam, Mokbul Khan, Rahim Uddin and Jalal Uddin. The plea said news reports claimed they were caught by the police from Shilchori-Nagatila area in 2012 for illegal entry, remanded to custody, and since then, detained in Silchar Jail.
The application said the situation in Myanmar is ‘extremely dangerous” for the Rohingyas to return. They are likely to be tortured and killed.
“The violence and severe persecution that had forced the Rohingyas to flee Myanmar and seek asylum in India continues till date and has attracted international condemnation,” the application said.
It was because of the persecution at home, that Rohingyas fled Myanmar to India and other neighbouring countries in 2012 for refuge.
“The imminent refoulement of the seven men is a grave violation of the India’s international obligation to respect the customary international law principle of non-refloulement that creates an obligation on a country to not deport a person to a place where he/she may face persecution,” the application said.