The government is unable to understand the difference between refugees and illegal immigrants, the lawyer representing the Rohingyas argued in the Supreme Court
Justice Dipankar Dutta said that out of all the 22 petitions, those petitions related to Rohingya refugees should be separated and they will be heard first.
On Thursday (July 31, 2025), the Supreme Court heard petitions filed regarding the deportation, detention and living conditions of Rohingya refugees living in the country . During this, the court asked four important questions related to Rohingya refugees, which the court will consider in the detailed hearing to be held in September.
According to the Bar and Bench report, a bench of Justice Suryakant, Justice N Kotishwar Singh and Justice Dipankar Dutta was hearing the case. 22 petitions were filed in the court, some of which were also related to the long-term detention of people declared foreigners in Assam. Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan said that the similarity in all these 22 cases is that they are related to the Foreigners Act . However, Justice Dutta said that the case of Rohingya refugees should be kept separate and it should be heard first.
On this point of Justice Dutta , senior advocate Colin Gonsalves said that Rajubala's case should also be seen like the Rohingya case because her husband has been detained with 30 Rohingyas for a long time in Assam. Advocate Prashant Bhushan said that the issue is whether the Rohingyas should be sent back in such a situation when other countries are not ready to accept these people. Another lawyer also said that the government is not able to understand the difference between refugees and illegal immigrants.
After hearing all the arguments, the court asked four questions related to Rohingyas and said that a detailed hearing will be held on these questions in September. Those four questions are-
- Are Rohingya people entitled to refugee status? If yes, what rights will they get?
- Are Rohingyas illegal intruders ? If yes, is it the responsibility of the central and state governments to deport them according to the law?
- If Rohingya are detained for illegally staying in India, should they be kept in jail indefinitely or should they be granted bail with conditions?
- Those Rohingya who are not in custody and are living in refugee camps, are they being provided basic facilities like water, education etc?
