Ex-RSS ideologue K N Govindacharaya moves SC seeking deportation of Rohingyas

Pic Courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: Former RSS ideologue and Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan leader K N Govindacharaya on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking to make him a party in a case that challenged Centre's decision to deport illegal Rohingya Muslim immigrants to Myanmar.

Govindacharya opposes the plea of two Rohingya refugees, which would come up for hearing on September 11 before a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, saying they are a burden on country's resources and pose serious threat to national security.

The plea, filed through advocate Archna Pathak Dave, favoured deportation and alleged that if the petition of the Rohingyas was entertained, it may lead to another partition of the country.

"It has also become known that Al-Qaeda is trying to use the Rohingya Community for terror and Jihad and if Rohingyas' plea is entertained then it may lead to another partition of the country," the plea said.

The plea also said the population explosion in India as it is is taking a heavy toll on the resources of the country.

"People are dying in Delhi under the heaps of garbage and Rohingyas' demand to the Union Government to provide them with basic amenities violates the fundamental rights of Indians," it said.

The apex court had on September 4 sought to know the stand of the government on a petition challenging the latter's decision to deport illegal Rohingya Muslim immigrants to Myanmar.

It had asked Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to take instruction from the Centre for its response to the petition which has challenged the decision on various grounds including that it violated international human right conventions.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the two Rohingya immigrants, wanted an assurance that during the pendency of the petition, the Centre will not take any step including the deportation of the immigrants.

The ASG had made it clear that he was not making any statement.

Violent attacks allegedly by the Myanmar army have led to an exodus of the Rohingyas from the western Rakhine state in that country to India and Bangladesh. Many of them, who had fled to India after the earlier spate of violence, have settled in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan.

The plea, filed by two Rohingya immigrants, Mohammad Salimullah and Mohammad Shaqir, who are registered as refugees under the United Nations High Commission of Refugees (UNHCR), claimed they had taken refuge in India after escaping from Myanmar due to widespread discrimination, violence and bloodshed against the community there.

"Proposed deportation is contrary to the constitutional protections of Article 14 (Right to Equality), Article 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty) and Article 51(c) of the Constitution of India, which provides equal rights and liberty to every person.

"This act would also be in contradiction with the principle of 'Non-Refoulement', which has been widely recognised as a principle of Customary International Law," the plea said, while seeking a direction to the government not to deport them and other members of the community.

It has also sought a direction that Rohingyas be provided with "basic amenities to ensure that they can live in human conditions as required by international law".

It also said that India has ratified and is a signatory to various conventions that recognise the Principle of "Non-Refoulement', which prohibits deportation of refugees to a country where they may face threat to their lives.

The principle of non-refoulement or not sending back refugees to a place where they face danger is considered part of the customary international law and is binding on all states whether they have signed the Refugee Convention or not.

The government had raised "serious concern" over reports of renewed violence and attacks in Myanmar and extended its "strong" support to the Myanmarese government at this "challenging moment".

On August 18, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had issued a notice to the Centre over its plan to deport Rohingya immigrants, who are residing in various parts of India.