Supreme Court reserves order for plea seeking release of detained Rohingyas in Jammu

The Supreme Court on Friday reserved the order for a plea that sought the release of Rohingyas who are detained in Jammu and to prevent them from being deported to Myanmar. The SC bench led by CJI Bobde, Justice AS Bopanna and Justice V Ramasubramanium was hearing a plea filed by petitioner Mohammad Salimullah seeking protection for the Rohingyas who fled Myanmar following the coup. The plea also sought directions to United Nations Human Commissioner for Refugees to intervene and assess the protection needs of the refugees and grant them refugee cards. 

Representing the Centre at SC, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the apex court that India was not the 'immigrant capital of the world'. SG Tushar Mehta firmly maintained that the continued stay of the illegal immigrants would cause a threat to national security and submitted that it also led the refugees to possess fake documents. However, the UN Special Rapporteur's counsel 
Senior Advocate CU Singh attempted to make submissions that were opposed by senior advocate Harish Salve. 

Representing the petitioner, advocate Prashant Bhushan cited the order passed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2020, directing Myanmar to take measures to prevent the genocide of Rohingyas. Prashant Bhushan argued that Rohingyas were refugees according to the United Nations Convention on refugees and further emphasised his point by explaining his argument in the backdrop of the coup in Myanmar and its impact on Rohingyas. To a question posed by CJI Bobde on how the ICJ-passed order was relevant in the present dispute, Prashant Bhushan submitted that the 150 Rohingya refugees detained in Jammu had identity cards issued by UN Commissioner for refugees and said that he was invoking Article 21 which was applicable for non-citizens as well.

Opposing the submissions of the UN Special Rapporteur's counsel, advocate Harish Salve noted that the court would never do anything that would embarrass the government and noted that the order passed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) was provisional and that India was not a signatory of treaties that would 'elbow the government'. Senior advocate Harish Salve pointed out that as per the principles of international law, a municipal court could follow only what the Executive said regarding the recognition of a foreign sovereign. 

Further, SG Tushar Mehta told the Court that the Rohingyas were not 'refugees' and that similar litigation had been dismissed in the past. He further argued that the current plea was filed by the same petitioner via the same lawyers and that persons moving public interest petitions should not suppress the facts. Explaining to the apex court the mechanism of deporting Rohingyas, SG Tushar Mehta told the SC bench that India would confirm with Myanmar if the refugees were its citizens following which they will be deported in accordance with the law. He further said that the Rohingyas were 'illegal migrants' and informed the court that the Union was in the process of getting information about the nationality of the detainees from Myanmar. 

J&K Administration apprehends 168 Rohingya Refugees

The administration of Jammu and Kashmir 'apprehended' at least 168 Rohingya refugees in Jammu on March 5. The development came a day after the Home Department issued a notification on March 5 under Section 3(2)e of the Foreigners Act.  "Holding centres" are set up in Hiranagar of Kathua in J&K, that will house the Rohingyas who are illegally staying in the Valley. The 168 also include children and women, who will be kept in this sub-jail that the government calls "holding centres". The holding centre in Jammu is built to accommodate 250 inmates, where nearly 168 Rohingyas were ferried last week on Saturday, in buses. The holding centre is a "sub-jail" that was readied a week before Rohingyas were shifted here. The prisoners and undertrials in this sub-jail were shifted to other prisons of Jammu.