Supreme Court to hear in March plea seeking release of detained Rohingya refugees
The Hindu
The Supreme Court on February 29 agreed to hear in March a plea seeking direction to the government to release Rohingya refugees who have been “illegally and arbitrarily” detained in jails and detention centres across the country.
The Supreme Court on February 29 agreed to hear in March a plea seeking direction to the government to release Rohingya refugees who have been "illegally and arbitrarily" detained in jails and detention centres across the country.
A Bench of Justice B. R. Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta agreed to list the plea after advocate Prashant Bhushan mentioned the matter, saying the case has not been posted for hearing.
Mr. Bhushan submitted that despite the issuance of notice to the Centre, the Union of India has not filed its reply till date. He told the top court that the matter needs an urgent hearing as many Rohingya refugees have been languishing in various parts of the country. The apex court said it will post the matter in March.
The top court on October 10 last year issued notice to the Centre and sought its response within four weeks.
Mr. Bhushan, appearing for petitioner Priyali Sur, had submitted that many Rohingya refugees have been detained in facilities across the country and sought their release to protect their right to life and equality before the law under Article 21 and Article 14 of the Constitution.
Ms. Sur's plea said the Rohingyas are an ethnic minority from the Rakhine state in Myanmar and they have been described by the United Nations as the world's most persecuted ethnic minority.
The Election Commission of India will hold a press conference on June 3, a day before the counting of votes polled in the Lok Sabha polls. Till the 2019 parliamentary polls, deputy election commissioners used to hold media briefings after each phase of polls, but the practice has been done away with.