The Supreme Court on Friday refused to urgently hear a plea alleging that Indian authorities had forcibly deported 43 Rohingya refugees by pushing them into international waters near the Myanmar border.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh questioned the basis of the petition and declined to pass an interim order to halt further deportations. It cited a previous decision from May 8, where another bench had refused to interfere with the deportation process.
The current plea was filed by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, who urged the court to hear the matter next week, warning, “Time is against us.” However, Justice Kant raised doubts about the petition’s claims. “Every day you come with one new story. Very beautifully crafted story. Please show us the material to substantiate your allegations,” he remarked.
The petition alleges that 43 Rohingya refugees, detained from New Delhi, were taken to the Andaman Sea and left in international waters, forcing even children and elderly people to swim using life jackets. Maktoob had reported on May 12 that the refugees were registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and held official identity cards.
When asked for proof, Gonsalves said the information was received through phone calls from those involved. Justice Kant questioned the credibility of the account, asking, “Who is the person watching them? Who video-recorded? How did the petitioner come back?”
Refusing to entertain what he described as “fanciful ideas” during a time of “national difficulty”—in an apparent reference to tensions at the Pakistan border—Kant said the matter would be taken up in due course. The case has now been clubbed with other petitions and will be heard on July 31.
Gonsalves also referenced a United Nations report from Thursday which stated that refugees had been “cast into the sea from naval vessels.” He pleaded, “Please hear before they die.” The bench replied that any comments on the UN report would be reserved for a three-judge bench.
Meanwhile, reports from Bangladesh suggest that India may have pushed more undocumented persons, including Rohingyas and Bengali speakers, into Bangladeshi territory. On May 8, Bangladesh’s border force claimed to have detained at least 123 such individuals. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirmed two days later that the state had begun “pushing back” Rohingyas instead of filing legal cases.
Among 78 people allegedly pushed into Bangladesh on May 8 were three Indian nationals. Gujarat police, where the men were reportedly detained, denied claims that they had been expelled across the water.
On May 8, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court that deportations of undocumented Rohingya migrants would follow due legal process.
