{"id":2046,"date":"2025-05-20T06:51:41","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T06:51:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/duggarsamvad.in\/?p=2046"},"modified":"2025-05-20T06:51:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T06:51:44","slug":"india-is-not-a-dharamshala-for-the-world-says-supreme-court-on-foreign-nationals-seeking-shelter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/duggarsamvad.in\/?p=2046","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIndia Is Not a Dharamshala for the World,\u201d Says Supreme Court on Foreign Nationals Seeking Shelter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Supreme Court of India<\/strong> on Monday asserted that India is not a \u201cdharamshala\u201d (public shelter)<\/strong> to accommodate foreign nationals from across the globe, while hearing a plea from a Sri Lankan national<\/strong> and former LTTE member seeking to remain in the country after completing a seven-year sentence under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and K. Vinod Chandran<\/strong> made the observation while considering a challenge to a Madras High Court order<\/strong> directing the petitioner to leave India immediately upon completion of his sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs India to host refugees from all over the world? We are struggling with 140 crore people\u2026 This is not a dharamshala that we can entertain foreign nationals from all over the world,\u201d the court remarked sharply.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Bench Dismisses Plea on Grounds of Citizenship<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The petitioner\u2019s counsel<\/strong> argued that the individual faced possible torture and arrest<\/strong> if he returned to Sri Lanka due to his past affiliation with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)<\/strong>. The lawyer also noted that the petitioner\u2019s wife and children had already settled in India<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the court was firm in its stance that the right to reside in India is reserved for Indian citizens<\/strong> under the Constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is your right to settle here?\u201d the bench asked pointedly. \u201cGo to some other country.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The petitioner had been convicted under Section 10 of the UAPA<\/strong>, which penalizes membership in unlawful associations. While the Madras High Court<\/strong> had reduced his sentence from 10 years to seven, it had also mandated immediate deportation<\/strong> following completion of his term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Supreme Court on Rohingya Deportations: Uphold Indian Law<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The court also referred to recent concerns<\/strong> raised in another case involving Rohingya refugees<\/strong>, in which petitioners alleged that 43 refugees, including women and children<\/strong>, were being deported after being abandoned in the Andaman Sea<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that matter, the apex court expressed frustration, stating,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen the country is passing through a difficult time, you come out with fanciful ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court reaffirmed that any foreign national<\/strong>, including those holding UNHCR identity cards<\/strong>, must be processed under the Foreigners Act<\/strong>, and that such UN-issued documents do not hold legal standing under Indian law<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf they are foreigners and covered under the Foreigners Act, then they must be dealt with accordingly,\u201d the bench noted.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

India’s Legal Position on Refugees<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention<\/strong>, and hence does not have a national asylum framework<\/strong>. The treatment of foreign nationals, including refugees, is governed strictly under the Foreigners Act, 1946<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legal experts note that while humanitarian concerns are valid, national security and demographic considerations<\/strong> play a central role in court decisions regarding deportation and settlement of foreign nationals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Supreme Court of India on Monday asserted that India is not a \u201cdharamshala\u201d (public shelter) to accommodate foreign nationals from across the globe, while hearing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2046","post","has-post-thumbnail","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/duggarsamvad.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/duggarsamvad.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/duggarsamvad.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/duggarsamvad.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/duggarsamvad.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2046"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/duggarsamvad.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2048,"href":"https:\/\/duggarsamvad.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2046\/revisions\/2048"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/duggarsamvad.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/duggarsamvad.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/duggarsamvad.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/duggarsamvad.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}