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News Topical, Digital Desk : India is not a dharamshala to accommodate refugees from across the world, the Supreme Court observed today while dismissing the asylum plea of a Sri Lankan national. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and K Vinod Chandran was hearing the plea of a Sri Lankan national who was arrested in 2015 on suspicion of being linked to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a terrorist organisation once active in Sri Lanka.
The petitioner pleaded
In 2018, a trial court convicted the man under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and sentenced him to 10 years in jail. In 2022, the Madras High Court reduced his sentence to seven years, but asked him to leave the country as soon as he completes his sentence and stay in a refugee camp before deportation. The petitioner told the Supreme Court that he had come to India on a visa and his life was in danger in his home country. He also said that his wife and children have settled in India and he has been in custody for almost three years and the deportation process has not started.
The court said this big thing
Responding to the petition, Justice Datta said, "Is India meant to host refugees from across the world? We are already grappling with a population of 140 crores. This is not a Dharamshala that we can welcome foreign nationals from everywhere."
The counsel for the petitioner argued the case under Article 21 (protection of life and liberty) and Article 19 of the Constitution, which provides fundamental rights including freedom of expression and movement. Justice Datta said the petitioner's detention did not violate Article 21 as he was detained in accordance with the law.
So you go to another country
The court then pointed out that Article 19 is available only to Indian citizens. The court asked, "What right do you have to settle here?" When the petitioner's lawyer stressed that he is a refugee and his life is in danger in Sri Lanka, the court asked him to go to some other country.
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