Three Advocates Move SC To Stop Deportation Of Rohingya Refugees [Read Petition]

A fresh petition has been moved by three advocates in the Supreme Court praying for direction to the government not to deport Rohingya refugees to Myanmar where they face imminent threat of persecution.

The petition has been moved by Roshan Tara Jaiswal, Zeba Khair and KG Gopalakrishnan.

The petitioners registered strong objection to the Centre's decision to deport Rohingya Muslims back to Myanmar where they face threat of persecution.

"...the proposed deportation by the Government of India of the Rohingya refugees is contrary to the Constitutional guarantees provided inter alia under Article 14, Article 21 and Article 51(c) of the Constitution of India.

"If the Rohingya refugees are deported back to Myanmar, there is an immediate threat of them being persecuted and robbed of their dignity by the incumbent government. Such an act of the government is contrary to the spirit of the Indian Constitution reflected in its Preamble, Directive Principles laid down in Part III," they said in the petition.

The petitioners quoted Raghu Menon, Advocacy Manager, Amnesty International India, as saying, “Indian authorities are well aware of the human rights violations, Rohingya community have had to face in Myanmar and it would be outrageous to abandon them to their fates. It shows blatant disregard for India’s obligations under international law”.

A similar statement was issued by UN Human Rights Chief, “I deplore current measures in India to deport Rohingyas at a time of such violence against them in their country.”

The petition prayed for a direction to the Centre not to deport Rohingyas and to also frame guidelines to handle like situations in future.

Rohingyas were the largest majority in Rakhine state of Myanmar, but were not recognised as ethnic community.

The petitioners said violence had led Rohingyas to move to Bangladesh from where they entered the North-East.

They are presently spread over large areas across various states, including Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

According to the estimates in 2015, their population was estimated to have been 10,500, which has now increased to 40,000.