Plea filed in SC seeking deportation of Rohingya Muslim refugees

Rohingya Muslims are a burden on a country's resources and a threat to national security: RSA leader

A plea was filed in Supreme Court on Monday seeking identification and deportation of Rohingya Muslim refugees.

The plea has been filed by Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan, (RSA) leader, K.N. Govindacharya.

Govindacharya, in his plea, said the Rohingya Muslims are a burden on a country's resources and also a serious threat to India's national security.

Govindacharya is opposing the plea earlier filed by two Rohingya Muslim refugees, for which Prashant Bhushan had appeared in the apex court.

The plea filed by the two Rohingya immigrants, Mohammad Salimullah and Mohammad Shaqir, who are registered refugees under the United Nations High Commission of Refugees (UNHCR), stated that "this act (deportation) would be in contradiction with the Principle of Non-Refoulement, which has been widely recognized as a principle of Customary International Law".

The Principle of Non-Refoulement prohibits states from sending back refugees to a country where their life may be in danger.

Earlier, India announced that it plans to deport an estimated 40,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees living illegally in India. The government said that even those registered with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees would be deported.

The Rohingyas fled to India after violence in the Western Rakhine State of Myanmar.