SC adjourns Rohingya case till Jan 2019 for final disposal

The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned the Rohingya case till January 2019 for final disposal.

Due to rising violence against Rohingya in Myanmar, thousands of them entered India and Bangladesh to seek refuge. Around 40,000 Rohingya refugees reside in India after having fled persecution in Myanmar, out of which 16,000 are registered with the United Nation refugee agency.

The central government in 2017 had told the court to identify and deport Rohingyas back to their homeland, stating that they are a threat to national security as they have a connection with terror groups and may be used by the Islamic State for terror attacks.

Earlier, a batch of pleas was filed in the apex court opposing the Centre's decision to deport over 40,000 refugees who had fled from Myanmar after widespread violence and discrimination against the community.

The plea was filed by two Rohingya immigrants - Mohammad Salimullah and Mohammad Shaqir- who claimed they took refuge in India after escaping Myanmar due to widespread discrimination, violence, and bloodshed against their community in Myanmar.

More than 650,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Rakhine in August 2017 after Myanmar's army launched a massive crackdown in its northern state, retaliating the attacks by insurgents, Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army on the country's police posts and a military base.