Illegal migrants have no legal rights, says SC

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Tuesday said intruders and illegal immigrants have no legal right and hoped every citizen is aware of this problem in northeastern and eastern states, amplifying a concern that had prompted SC in 2005 to observe that Assam faced “external aggression and internal disturbance” due to influx of Bangladeshi migrants.

Dealing with a habeas corpus plea on whereabouts of five Rohingya illegal immigrants untraceable after their detention, a plea strongly opposed by solicitor general Tushar Mehta, a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi took exception to petitioner Rita Manchanda’s counsel referring to Rohingyas as “refugees”.

India’s poor have priority over illegal migrants: SC

The CJI said the apex court was adopting a humane approach towards them. “Once these illegal migrants are in India, they claim right to food and shelter and help for their children. We have many poor people in the country. They have a right over the country’s resources, not the illegal migrants. True, the illegal migrants cannot be subjected to custodial torture,” the CJI said.

SC’s remark came amid growing demand from certain quarters to recognise Rohingyas — Muslims based in the Rakhine province of Myanmar who are considered by the junta there to be Bengali intruders and not Myanmarese citizens — as refugees. There have been instances of Rohingyas trickling into West Bengal from Bangladesh where they have been living after escaping Myanmar.

Mehta said in the guise of a habeas corpus petition, the petitioner seeks to know the details of process followed for deportation of Rohingya, the talks India had with countries on this issue, and disclosure of the contents of files on this issue. The bench adjourned the hearing to Dec 16, when other matters relating to Rohingya illegal migrants would be taken up.

In its 2005 judgment in the Sarbananda Sonowal case, SC had said, “There can be no manner of doubt that the state of Assam is facing ‘external aggression and internal disturbance’ on account of large-scale illegal migration of Bangladeshi nationals. It, therefore, becomes the duty of the Union of India to take all measures for protection of the state of Assam from such external aggression and internal disturbance as enjoined in Article 355 of the Constitution.”

On May 8, a bench of Justices Kant, Dipankar Datta and N Kotiswar Singh had refused to stay purported deportation of illegal Rohingya immigrants from Delhi brushing aside fervent pleas from advocates Colin Gonsalves and Prashant Bhushan who claimed that these immigrants face genocide in Myanmar and have a right to stay in India.The bench had said the right to reside anywhere in India is available only to Indian citizens and foreigners would be dealt with in accordance with the Foreigners Act.
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