Are Rohingyas illegal entrants or refugees? Supreme Court to decide

The Supreme Court today took up a batch of petitions seeking directions to detect and deport alleged Rohingya and Bangladeshi infiltrators. 

Deciding to take up the matters pertaining to Rohingya infiltrators first, on a suggestion made on behalf of the Union of India, the Supreme Court segregated the petitions before it into three groups. The first of these groups is of petitions relating to Rohingyas. 

A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and N Kotiswar Singh has thus ordered that the following issues involved in the petitions will be considered:

1. Whether Rohingyas are to be declared as Refugees? If so, what protection emanates from that right?

2. If Rohingyas are illegal entrants, is Government of India and the state governments obligated to deport them?

3. If Rohingyas are illegal entrants, can they be detained indefinitely or are they entitled to be released on bail?

4. Are Rohingyas in refugee camps provided with basic amenities like sanitation, drinking water, education etc.?

As the case was taken up today, the bench questioned as to why all the matters were clubbed. "Perhaps because Union of India is the common party", Advocate Kanu Agarwal responded to the same.

Supreme Court further queried if there was some commonality in the matters before it. To this, Advocate Kanu Agarwal, appearing for the Union of India replied that the commonality lied in the interpretation of the Foreigners Act and suggested that the court may take up the matter concerning the Rohingyas first.

On the last hearing, Justice Surya Kant, had remarked, “We will hear the matter finally and deliver a clear decision. If they have a right to remain here, it will be recognized. If not, they will be deported.” Court was told by the petitioners on the issue of ongoing deportations that it was a cause of great concern. To this, Justice Kant had remarked that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had already assured that deportation, if any, would be in accordance with law. In its brief order, the Court had thus noted, “In light of the self-speaking order of 2021 passed by the coordinate bench, the learned Solicitor General states that no further directions are necessary at this stage.”

Notably in 2022, the then Chief Justice of India Justice (CJI) NV Ramana of Supreme Court while hearing a mentioning of Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay seeking listing of his plea which had sought detection and deportation of Rohingya-Bangladeshi infiltrators, remarked, “These are definitely important issues, however what is the purpose of elected representatives?”

Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay had filed the PIL after Centre stated in Rajya Sabha in 2021, about 20 million illegal Bangladeshi migrants living in India. The petitioner prayed for issuance of directions to the Central and State Government to amend the respective laws to make illegal migration and infiltration a cognizable non-bailable & non-compoundable offence; declare the making of forged/ fabricated PAN Cards, AADHAR Cards, Passport, Ration Cards & Voter Cards & such other documents, a non-bailable, non-compoundable & cognizable offence & amend the laws accordingly; identify the travel agents, government employees & other such people, who directly/indirectly provide PAN Cards, Passport & Voter Cards to illegal immigrants & infiltrators & take stern action against them.

“The large scale illegal migrants, particularly from Myanmar & Bangladesh, have not only threatened the demographic structure of bordering districts but have seriously impaired the security & national integration, particularly in the present circumstances. The need for expeditious identification of illegal migrants is more pressing now than ever. It is not a matter of dealing with a religious or linguistic group but a question of identifying those who illegally crossed over the border & continue to live in India contrary to law & Constitution”, the plea stated. 

Case Title: Jaffar Ullah & Anr Vs Union of India & Ors

Hearing Date: July 31, 2025

Bench: Justices Kant, Datta and NK Singh