Supreme Court on Rohingya Deportation Case

Syllabus: GS2/Governance/IR

In News 

• The Supreme Court heard a habeas corpus petition by activists alleging disappearance of several Rohingya persons who were in Delhi Police custody since May.
  • The petitioner maintained that any deportation must still follow due legal process.

Rohingya 

• They are a muslim ethnic group living mainly in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. 
• They speak a dialect of Bengali rather than Burmese. 
• Although they have lived in Myanmar for generations, the government regards them as descendants of colonial-era migrants and denies them full citizenship.
• Under Myanmar’s 1982 citizenship law, Rohingya can obtain citizenship only by proving their ancestors lived in the country before 1823; otherwise, they are classified as resident foreigners or associate citizens, even if one parent is Myanmar-born.
  • As a result, they face restrictions on civil service employment and movement within Rakhine.

Related Laws in india

• India has no legal obligation to provide asylum or follow the principle of non-refoulement because it is not a party to the Refugee Convention, the Convention Against Torture, or the Convention on Enforced Disappearance.
• Refugees are detained under older domestic laws — the Foreigners Act, 1946,  the Passport Act, 1967 & the Citizenship Act, 1955.
• Refugee status operates via ad-hoc executive channels with “strategic ambiguity” like the Ministry of Home Affairs handles Sri Lankan Tamils and Tibetans.
• The principle of non-refoulement is accepted as customary international law, prohibiting return to persecution, though not statutorily binding.
  • Article 21 offers basic protections to all persons but no right to reside for non-citizens.

Supreme Court’s recent Observations

• The Supreme Court of India recently observed that Rohingyas cannot be automatically classified as refugees without an official government declaration, stressing that illegal entrants do not have legal rights within the country.
• The Court emphasized the need for a clear government stance on their status. It also recognized the baseline humanitarian treatment owed to all entrants but expressed skepticism about extending legal rights to non-citizens who enter illegally.
• It also highlighted India’s sensitive northern borders, stressing that intruders cannot be given a “red carpet welcome” with facilities.

Source :TH