The Supreme Court today said Bru refugees, lodged in relief camps in Tripura after being displaced from Mizoram, should be allowed to voluntarily return to their native state.
A bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice S K Kaul referred to the February 6 order in which Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar had informed the court that he would convey to the authorities concerned that status quo be maintained on shifting back of displaced families to Mizoram.
"We accordingly hereby clarify that such Bru families that were displaced to Tripura and desiring to return to Mizoram voluntarily, shall be allowed to do so on their own will and such of the families, which desire such rehabilitation, will be provided the necessary pre-requisites as has been provided to others who have been rehabilitated," it said.
During the hearing, the solicitor general told the court that rehabilitation process of Bru families is going on and a joint monitoring group (JMG), headed by the Union home secretary, is looking after it.
He said that the petitioner, Mizoram Bru Displaced Peoples Forum, has participated in the JMG meetings with regard to rehabilitation process which has been undertaken by the Mizoram government with the help of the Centre and the Tripura government.
"When they (petitioner) have participated in the meeting of the joint monitoring group, they should not have presented their grievances here (before the apex court)," Kumar told the bench.
He said that the JMG is already seized of the matter and it is trying to find out the modalities and is also considering raising the compensation to be paid to displaced Bru families from Rs 80,000 to Rs 10 lakh each.
He also said, "What was happening on the ground was stopped due to the status quo order."
To this, the bench asked, "How many people have gone back (to Mizoram)?"
Responding to the query, the solicitor general said when the rehabilitation process had commenced, the number of such families was 3,455 which has increased to 5,407 and the total number of Bru refugees stand at 32,876.
He placed the minutes of meetings of JMG, which were held in 2016 and this year, before the court which posted the matter for hearing after three weeks.
The bench also said the meetings by the JMG on the issue of rehabilitation and repatriation of Bru refugees should continue.
The court is hearing a plea seeking rehabilitation and repatriation of Bru refugees, who were displaced from Mizoram due to various factors including violence, to their native state.
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