India Is Not a Dharamshala: Supreme Court Rejects Sri Lankan Nationals’ Plea
India is not a dharamshala (free shelter) that can entertain refugees from all over the world, the Supreme Court said today, refusing a Sri Lankan national’s plea for refuge. The bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice K Vinod Chandran was hearing a petition by a Sri Lankan national, who was arrested in 2015 on suspicion of being linked to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a terrorist organisation once active in Sri Lanka.
In 2018, a trial court convicted him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and sentenced him to 10 years in jail. In 2022, the Madras High Court slashed his term to seven years, but asked him to leave the country as soon as his sentence was over and stay in a refugee camp before his deportation.
The petitioner, a Sri Lankan Tamil, told the Supreme Court that he had come to India with a visa and that his life was in danger in his home country. He also said his wife and children were settled in India and that he had been under detention for nearly three years now and the deportation process had not begun.
In response, Justice Datta said, “Is India to host refugees from all over the world? We are struggling with 140 crore. This is not a dharma shala that we can entertain foreign nationals from all over.”
The petitioner’s counsel had argued the matter under the Constitution’s Article 21 (protection of life and liberty) and Article 19, which grants fundamental rights, including freedom of speech and movement. Justice Datta said the petitioner’s detention does not violate Article 21 because he was taken into custody as per law. The court pointed out that Article 19 is available only to Indian citizens. “What is your right to settle here?” the court asked. When the petitioner’s counsel stressed that he was a refugee and his life was in danger in Sri Lanka, the court asked him to move to another country.
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