India to deport 7 Rohingyas as SC rejects instant hearing

| | New Delhi
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India to deport 7 Rohingyas as SC rejects instant hearing

Thursday, 04 October 2018 | PNS | New Delhi

India will deport seven Rohingya immigrants, who have been staying in Assam illegally, to their home country Myanmar on Thursday.

This is for the first time Rohingya immigrants would be sent back to Myanmar from India. Snuffing out their last hope of preventing their deportation, the Supreme Court rejected urgent hearing on this matter, raised by lawyer Prashant Bhushan.

The seven Rohingya immigrants will be handed over to Myanmar authorities at Moreh border post in Manipur Thursday, a Home Ministry official said.

The illegal immigrants have been staying at a detention centre in Silchar, Assam, since 2012, after they were detained by police. Consular access had been given to Myanmar diplomats, who confirmed the identity of the immigrants, the official said.

Another official said the confirmation of the Myanmarese citizenship of the illegal immigrants came after the Government of the neighbouring country verified their addresses in Rakhine State. Home Ministry told Parliament last year that more than 14,000 Rohingyas, registered with the UN refugee agency UNHCR, stay in India. However, aid agencies estimate there are about 40,000 Rohingya people in the country.

A Supreme court Bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, which made it clear to lawyers lead by Prashant Bhushan at the outset that it will not allow urgent mentioning of matters till the framing of “parameters” on such cases, said it would take a decision on urgent hearing in this issue after perusing the application.

The Bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, was told by Bhushan that some Rohingya refugees were on the verge of being deported and the matter required urgent hearing.

“No mentioning. We will work out the parameters then we will see as to how mentioning will be done,” said the Bench, adding that matters like execution of a death row convict, eviction cases can be heard urgently.

Initially, the Bench asked Bhushan to file the plea and on being told that the application has already been filed, it said, “We will peruse the file and the decide”.

The fresh plea has been filed challenging the decision of the Centre to deport seven Rohingya immigrants.

The PIL was filed earlier by two Rohingya immigrants -- Mohammad Salimullah and Mohammad Shaqir -- challenging the Centre’s decision to deport over 40,000 refugees who came to India after escaping from Myanmar due to widespread discrimination and violence against the community.

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