GUWAHATI, Dec 15: The Assam government has been directed by the Gauhati High Court to take a decision, at the earliest, regarding a plea moved by 10 members of the Rohingya community seeking either refugee status in India or deportation to Myanmar, their “country of origin”.
“It has been submitted that the present petitioners are admittedly citizens of Myanmar who have been convicted for entering this country without proper documentation and had served out sentences imposed by the competent court and have been languishing in jail for the last seven year,” the Court observed in its order.
The petitioners, Saidur Rahman, his wife Tahara Begum and their three children, his brother Mahmad Ulla, his wife Rumana Begum and their three children.
All the Rohingiya members are residents of Coundang village under Buthidaung police station of Rakhine state in Myanmar. They have been lodged in Tezpur jail for the past seven years.
“The plea of the petitioners is that either they be allowed to remain in India by granting refugee status or be deported to their country of origin, which is Myanmar. However, the authorities are not taking any decision in this regard and the petitioners are languishing in jail,” a bench comprising Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Justice Malasri Nandi observed recently.
The Rohingya members had approached the High Court in 2017 seeking either refugee status in India or deportation to Myanmar.
The matter, which has come up for hearing before the High Court six times, has now been listed for further hearing on December 16 after the special counsel appearing for the foreigners’ tribunal sought some more time to take instructions from the Assam government on the course of action to be taken in respect of the petitioners.