About 2 lakh displaced persons are presently staying in Assam, West Bengal and other north-eastern states, the NGOs - Swajan and Bimolangshu Roy Foundation has claimed in their petitions to the apex court.
During a brief hearing of the NGOs' pleas, a bench of justices P Sathasivam and Ranjan Gogoi observed that the problem seems to be affecting not only the north-eastern states, but also Haryana.
"Except West Bengal, all other courts in that area comes under the jurisdiction of Guwahati High Court. You have forgotten that this problem also exists in Haryana. You should have also made Haryana the party," the bench told senior counsel M N Krishnamani and Pinky Anand, who appeared for the NGOs.
The bench also said, "It is not a matter for a particular state but has a bearing on other states. We want to know whom you are representing."
The counsel said though Bangladeshi migrants, searching for livelihood, may be in other parts of the country as well, the petitioner NGOs were seeking relief only for those persons who had faced religious persecution in that country.
Besides Assam and West Bengal, the states where the displaced persons from Bangladesh have migrated to are Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Tripura.
The petition filed through counsel Shuvodeep Roy stated that despite Section 2 of the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950 protecting the victims of civil disturbances against expulsion, no measure has been taken either by the Centre or Assam to benefit displaced persons. (More)