A writ petition has been filed in the Supreme Court of India alleging that 43 Rohingya refugees, including minors, elderly individuals, and cancer patients, were forcibly deported by the Indian government and abandoned in international waters near Myanmar in a covert operation that took place earlier this month.
The petition, filed as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by two Rohingya refugees residing in Delhi, accuses Indian authorities of violating constitutional and human rights by allegedly detaining individuals under false pretenses and deporting them without due process. It claims that the group, which included United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cardholders, was picked up late on the night of May 7 by Delhi Police under the guise of biometric data collection.
Allegations of Covert Deportation
According to the petitioners, the detainees were taken in police vans and held in various police stations for 24 hours before being transferred to the Inderlok Detention Centre in Delhi. They were then flown to Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. There, they were allegedly blindfolded, had their hands tied, and were forced onto naval ships, which later dropped them into international waters near Myanmar.
“To the utter shock of their families, the detainees were not released after the biometric collection. Instead, they were transported to airports and flown to Port Blair… Children as young as 15, female minors as young as 16, senior citizens up to 66 years old, and people suffering from cancer and other ailments were among those abandoned into the sea without regard for their lives or safety,” the petition states.
The petition further alleges that before the deportation, officials asked the detainees whether they preferred to go to Myanmar or Indonesia. Fearing for their lives, the group pleaded to be taken to Indonesia. However, the authorities allegedly deceived them and released them into the sea under the false assurance that someone would escort them to safety. The refugees swam using lifejackets and were devastated to learn they had landed in Myanmar.
Court Proceedings and Government Stand
The matter was mentioned before a Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Surya Kant, Justice Dipankar Datta, and Justice N Kotiswar Singh on May 8, 2025. Despite the seriousness of the allegations, the Court listed the matter for hearing on July 31 without passing interim relief. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta referred to an earlier Supreme Court order dated April 8, 2021, which permitted deportation of foreigners “in accordance with law.”
The petitioners argue that the latest deportation was carried out in complete violation of the Constitution and established judicial principles, especially the principle of non-refoulement — which prohibits expulsion of a refugee fearing persecution in their home country. They cited that this principle has been accepted in several Indian judicial decisions, even though India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.
Reliefs Sought
The petition seeks several directions from the Supreme Court, including:
- Declaration that the “forced and clandestine” deportation is unconstitutional;
- Orders to the Union of India to immediately repatriate the deported Rohingyas back to New Delhi;
- Prohibition on future arrests or detentions of UNHCR cardholders;
- Compensation of ₹50 lakh to each deportee;
- Restoration of the issuance of residency permits to UNHCR cardholders in line with the Domestic Refugee Policy.
It also details the identities of the deported individuals, including their UNHCR card numbers, and asserts that families were separated and children taken away from their mothers during the process.
