"Developing Country With Limited Resources": Centre Denies Acceptance Of Rohingyas As Refugees, Affidavit Filed In Supreme Court

The Centre on Wednesday (20 March) filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court stating that it considers Rohingyas as illegal immigrants, who do not have the right to reside and settle in India.

The affidavit comes in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought the release of detained Rohingya refugees in India. The petitioner is Priyali Sur, an independent multimedia journalist.

The Centre observed that India is "a developing country with the largest population in the world and with limited resources" and hence it needs to prioritise its own citizens, LiveLaw reported.

This comes in the backdrop of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) notified recently which grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians who came before 31 December 2014 from Pakistan Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

However, the Centre said, "There cannot be any blanket acceptance of foreigners as refugees especially where the vast majority of such foreigners have entered the country illegally."

The Centre also highlighted its legal obligation to "deport a person who is an illegal migrant" as per the Foreigners' Act. It also noted that India does not recognise "refugees" under any law.

The affidavit said that what the petitioner argues is "beyond the powers of judicial review" because the courts cannot direct Parliament to make a law or to legislate in a particular way."