SC seeks Centre's response on plea over detention of Rohingya refugees

The Supreme Court recently sought a response from the Centre on a plea seeking the release of Rohingya asylum seekers and refugees who are in indefinite detention in the country.

"Issue notice returnable on August 27, 2024," the court said in its August 12's order.

A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and also comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked Centre and others to file a reply on the plea.

The Public Interest Petition has challenged the indefinite detention of Rohingya asylum seekers and refugees, including young women and children, in India and said that it is a violation of the procedures established by law.

The petition has been filed by Rita Manchanda. The petitioner was represented by advocates Ujjaini Chatterji, T. Mayura Priyan, Racheeta Chawla, and Shrey Ravi Dambhare.

The Petitioner has pleaded the Supreme Court to direct the respondents to release the Rohingya detainees who have been held for over two years under the Foreigner's Act,

1946, and the Passports Act (Entry into India), 1929, subject to any reasonable restrictions.

According to the petition, the petitioner Rita Manchanda, is a distinguished scholar specialising in South Asian conflicts and peacebuilding. She, along with her co-author, Manahil Kidwai, has prepared a report titled 'Destinies Under Detention'

A Case for the Right to Dignity & Humane Treatment of Rohingya refugees in India" where she has documented cases of Rohingyas detained at various detention centres, juvenile homes and welfare centres in India. The Petitioner claimed that she finds evidence in her report that the detained Rohingyas were never served any notice or given an opportunity to present their cases as refugees.

Further, the Petitioner noted in her report that several Rohingya detainees do not have access to clean drinking water and even nutritious food and young Rohingya women who are survivors of inhuman crimes of sexual violence and human trafficking remain in detention without any mental health support and very limited access to medical treatment in general.

The Petitioner, in her report, has documented two deaths that have occurred in the detention centres, including the death of a minor, which reflect a situation of alarm. "Rohingya children are not being given any education or even vocational training which renders them with no future to look forward to," she said in her petition.

"Rohingyas are not paid any wages for their labour inside the detention centres. This reflects that the rights to health and human dignity of the detainees, particularly young women and children, are being violated in the detention centres.

Additionally, such continued detention constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, which amounts to torture," the petition said.

The petitioner said that through his PIL, she intends to add the evidence of procedural lapses and the inhuman living conditions of the Rohingyas in their indefinite detention in order to define further context to the pending matter. The Petitioner particularly understands the complexity of the situation as it deals with a persecuted community, trafficked women and children, which further complicates the challenges. Therefore, it is imperative to find durable solutions to protecting the Rohingyas, she said.

Subsequently, in her petition, she sought to direct the Centre to provide the names, gender and age of all Rohingyas across India who are indefinitely detained under the Passport Act 1929 and the Foreigners Act, 1946, along with their detention orders, last communication with Embassy of Myanmar regarding deportation, personal data/ assessment forms and final orders of rejection of refugee status in accordance with the SoP dated March 20 March 2019 in the interest of justice.

Besides it, the petition also urged the top court to direct the Respondents to issue identity documents to the stateless detenues as per the provisions of The Passport Rules, 1980 (Schedule II, Part II) in the interest of justice. The petition also sought to direct the respondents to assess the claim of refugee status of the detainees within three months in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure, 2019 dated March 20, 2019 and either grant the Rohingyas a long-term Visa or arrange for their third country resettlement as per the Standard Operating Procedure, 2019 within the prescribed time frame in the interest of justice.