Strange Govt argument for sending refugees back: “If they stay, labour rates would become so low that Indians would suffer”
The deportation issue of Rohingya Muslim refugees continued before the Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices DY Chandrachud and AM Khanwilkar on Tuesday (October 3).
The Myanmarese government has given conditional okay to taking back some of the refugees, but that issue did not come up in the hearing, possibly because of a lack of clarity on the issue so far.
Three advocates of the Supreme Court are praying for direction to the government not to deport Rohingya refugees to Myanmar where they face imminent threat of persecution.
On Tuesday, senior counsel Fali S Nariman referred to the affidavit filed by government of India in which the government mentioned that “we will file further documents whenever we want” and that the “law-making decision is vested in execution and this is not justiciable.” He said: “These things are far removed from our constitution. We have been accepting refugees for ages. This problem is not just with the Union of India, but with all the states as well.
“The major issue in the affidavit is that the government has already ordered all the states to identify all Rohingya immigrants who crossed the boundary of India illegally, to identify them and deport them expeditiously,” he added.
He informed the court that in December 2011 the then dispensation running the government had sent a document to all the states, saying that the Union government was considering amending all the laws related to refugees in which the government will simplify all the procedure of getting citizenship of India.
The bench said: “This is the first time we are dealing with a case of this nature. The children and women are really suffering in a harsh environment. India should take certain steps to (ensure the safety of) the large body of humanity.”
Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said: “There are various parameters. If the government allows them, the labour rate will become so cheap that our citizens will start suffering because of that.”
The next date of hearing is October 13.
—India Legal Bureau