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Don’t want India to become the refugee capital of the world, govt. tells SC
Context
The Union government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it does not want the country to become the refugee capital of the world.
The Centre was responding to a submission by Rohingya refugees that the BSF was “pushing back” their compatriots at the borders with chilli spray and stun grenades
“We do not want India to become the refugee capital of the world. People from every other country will flood our country,” Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.
Refugee determination
- Justice D.Y. Chandrachud observed that the court did acknowledge the humanitarian aspects of the situation, but asked if judicial standards of India, which applied to refugees already living on Indian soil, also apply to those attempting to enter the country
- “Somebody comes to your border and says ‘I am a refugee’. It has to be determined whether he is a refugee. He cannot be blindly pushed back… then what is the commitment of India to refugee determination?
‘We cannot push them back to the jaws of death’
- Senior advocate Ashwini Kumar, also for the refugees, said “minimum humanitarian morality” should be shown to the refugees at the border.
- “We cannot push them back to the jaws of death. You cannot deny a man his right to life. The Supreme Court has to intervene as the ultimate protector of life,” he submitted.
- Senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, for National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), submitted that the issue of how to deal with refugees trying to enter at the border should be diplomatically resolved.
Balancing human rights with national interests
- The court has said it would want to balance national interests with humanitarian concern about the refugees.
- The court is hearing a bunch of petitions, one filed by persons within the Rohingya community, against a proposed move to deport over 40,000 Rohingyas.
