The Supreme Court refused to interfere in the detention of Sri Lankan Tamil nationals, saying verbally: “India is not Dharamsala, a global refugee.”
Justice Dipankar Datta said: “Is India going to host refugees from all over the world? We are fighting Rs 1.4 billion. This is not Dharamshala where we can entertain foreign nationals from all over the place.”
Supreme Court judges also include Justice K Vinod Chandran heard an order against the Madras High Court directing the petitioner to be deported immediately after being sentenced to seven years in prison under the UAPA.
The lawyer representing the petitioner believes that his client is a Sri Lankan Tamil who entered India with a visa and faces the threat of his life in his home country.
He also said the petitioner had been detained for nearly three years without bringing any deportation procedures.
“What gives you the right to settle here?” asked Judge Data, who insisted that the petitioner was a refugee and his family lived in India.
Judge Data said Article 21 has not been violated since the detention was followed by appropriate legal proceedings. He further added that under Article 19, the right to settle in India is reserved for Indian citizens.
The petitioner and two other applicants were arrested on suspicion of becoming an LTTE agent in 2015. In 2018, the off-road court was sentenced to 10 years in prison under UAPA, while the Madras High Court reduced the penalty to seven years in 2022 and ordered him to leave India immediately after the sentence was sentenced.
