Police May Verify Addresses Of 7 Myanmarese Citizens Allowed Passage To Delhi By Manipur HC : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday directed that it will be open to the official of the Vikaspuri police station (in Delhi) to verify by tomorrow the availability at the address indicated of the seven Myanmarese citizens who were allowed by the Manipur High Court to travel to New Delhi to seek protection from the UNHCR in May last year.The Court further ordered that If it is found that they are not available or any one of them is not available at the given address, the seven persons are to report to the Vikaspuri police station on Wednesday at 11 AM. The Court added, "The fact that they will report to Vikaspuri police station is only for the limited purpose of reassuring that they are available within the Delhi city and they are not to be arrested or subjected to any further inquiry and would abide by the final orders that may be passed by this court"On being told by the Central Government that 7 Myanmarese citizens are now untraceable, the Supreme Court on April 25 said that the responsibility is that of the petitioner (who filed by PIL in the HC) to produce the person before the concerned authorities.The Court also stayed the High Court's May 2021 judgment, if the same has not been acted upon.The Court issued notice on the Centre's challenge to the Manipur High Court May 3, 2021 judgment ordering safe passage to New Delhi for seven Myanmarese persons to enable them to avail suitable protection from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.The bench of Justices A. M. Khanwilkar and A. S. Oka was hearing the SLP against the May, 2021 decision of the Manipur High Court in the matter concerning 7 Myanmarese citizens, who entered India illegally, and sought permission to travel to New Delhi to seek protection from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. In an important observation, the High Court had said that the seven Myanmarese individuals in question are not 'migrants', as normally understood, but are 'asylum seekers' and that they did not enter our country with the clear-cut and deliberate intention of breaking and violating our domestic laws. The Court also noted that though India has no clear refugee protection policy or framework, it does grant asylum to a large number of refugees from nearby countries and that India usually respects the UNHCR's recognition of the status of such asylum seekers, mainly from Afghanistan and Myanmar. In April, 2021, while allowing the interim relief for arranging safe transport and passage of 7 Myanmarese individuals to Imphal, the Manipur High Court had observed that the principle of non Refoulement can prima facie be read within the ambit of Article 21 of the Constitution.On Monday, Advocate Kamini Jaiswal, appearing for the petitioner before the High Court and respondent no. 1 in the instant SLP, urged, "I was pained by the statement that was made and the order that was passed. I am a very responsible member of the bar and these kind of things are stated…The people are in India. We are asylum seekers. We have been coming and going to India. Some of them had gratis visa. We are working with Mizzima (news platform). Mizzima has a memorandum of understanding with VSNL. On first of February, Mizzima was banned and that is when these people entered- only to seek asylum seekers' status, they wanted to come to UNHCR"Jaiswal: (Indicating the impugned order of the Manipur High court) "The High Court records that 'the prayer in this writ petition is to allow the seven named Myanmarese citizens, who entered India illegally, to travel to New Delhi to seek protection from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)'. That is all. Please see the relief granted in the impugned order- 'On the above analysis, this Court finds it just and proper to extend protection under Article 21 of the Constitution to these seven Myanmarese persons and grant them safe passage to New Delhi to enable them to avail suitable protection from the UNHCR. Some of them seem to be in possession of their passports but in any event, their details and particulars have been noted by the Immigration authorities of our country. There shall accordingly be a direction to the FRRO at Imphal airport to immediately provide them with temporary identification cards to enable them to travel to New Delhi by air, if such identity proofs are necessary. The State and Central Governments shall facilitate their travel to New Delhi and shall not cause any obstruction. The petitioner/party-in-person states that she will make the required arrangements for purchase of their air-tickets and would also arrange for their stay at New Delhi, pending consideration of their claims for 'refugee' status by the UNHCR. This assurance is taken on record. Further, the petitioner/party-in-person shall ensure that these seven persons approach the Officer-in-Charge of the Parliament Street Police Station or the jurisdictional Police Station at New Delhi to register their names, local addresses and whereabouts, pending...

Police May Verify Addresses Of 7 Myanmarese Citizens Allowed Passage To Delhi By Manipur HC : Supreme Court

Mehal Jain

Tags