Rohingya Return Deal

The Supreme Court on Thursday said if Rohingya refugees in the country were found to be foreigners under Indian laws they will have to be deported. A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and N Kotiswar Singh referred to a top court's order and remarked the identity cards issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) may not be of any help to them under the law. "If they are foreigners as per the Foreigners Act, then they have to be deported," Justice Datta told senior advocate Colin Gonsalves and advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing for different Rohingya petitioners seeking various reliefs. The top court was informed that some refugees having UNHCR cards, including women and children, were arrested by police authorities late last night and deported, despite a hearing slated on Thursday. Justice Datta said, "If they (Rohingyas) are all foreigners and if they are covered by the Foreigners' Act, then they will have to be dealt with as per the Foreigners'

Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam said there was much more work to be done

The refugees chanted slogans and held banners demanding citizenship and guarantees of security before they return to their home state of Rakhine in Myanmar

The agreement, finalised in Myanmar's capital this week, says that the process would be "completed preferably within two years

Singh will chair a meeting of chief ministers of states bordering Bangladesh in Kolkata tomorrow

Bangladesh and Myanmar have signed a tentative agreement to send the Rohingya back to their home in the Rakhine State

Bangladesh has not acceded to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol

Rights groups have accused the military in mostly Buddhist Myanmar of carrying out mass rape and other atrocities