Let us handle Rohingyas, government tells Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Centre on Friday urged the Supreme Court not to intervene in the executive decision on deportation of Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar and it would not be in national interest for the court to issue a direction to stop their deportation.

The Centre filed an affidavit in this regard before a three-judge Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Kanwilkar and D.Y. Chandra-chud hearing a batch of petitions seeking to restrain India from deporting 40,000 Rohingyas. A direction was also sought to permit the remaining Rohingya refugees to cross over the border and enter India as BSF is thwarting their entry.

The Centre said India is already facing serious problems of infiltration because of its porous border with the neighbouring countries, which is the root cause of spread of terrorism in the country. Securing the borders of any sovereign nation in accordance with law is an essentially function and this court would not issue any direction not only to the Central government but also to all States having a common border.  

The Centre pointed out that India is not a signatory to the United Nations Convention relating to status of refugees. Considering the very peculiar existing geographical situation, it is not in the interest of national security for this court to issue a direction to stop their deportation. It said the role of BSF was to ensure security of nation by preventing unauthorised entry of foreigners and prevent trans-border crimes, including smuggling and other illegal activity.   

The Centre denied the allegation that the BSF was using chilli powder and stun grenades to stop the refugees from entering India.