Supreme Court to Sri Lankan Man: 'Already Struggling with 140 Crore'; Deportation Stay Denied

Supreme Court to Sri Lankan Man: On Monday, the Supreme Court opined that the country is not a "dharmashala" where the whole world may find a refuge while even struggling to feed and shelter its population of 140 crore.

The bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and K Vinod Chandran dismissed the appeal of a Sri Lankan against stay of deportation. His release from prison was very recently recorded under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, so reads the LiveLaw report.

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The petitioner was said to have been arrested in 2015 for purported links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which engaged in fighting the Sri Lankan government for much of its civil war to carve out a separate state for the linguistic Tamil minorities of that land. The LTTE was designated by the Indian government as a terrorist organisation.

The person was set upon the trial in 2018 and convicted under the UAPA The Madras High Court reduced his sentence from 10 to 7 years and directed him to leave India on completion of his sentence.

The man, now detained at a refugee camp for the last three years, came to the Apex Court for fear of being killed if he were to return to Sri Lanka and suggested that he had come to India on a valid visa while his wife and children are now "settled" in India.

The petitioner also cited the alleged delay in the deportation process while seeking a stay of it from the apex court, the report said.

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‘Not a dharmashala’

Responding to his plea, Justice Datta said, “Is India to host refugees from all over the world? We are struggling with 140 crore. This is not a dharmashala that we can entertain foreign nationals from all over.”

The apex court also rejected the petitioner's claim to fundamental rights under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution on the ground that he was captured by due procedure of law.

Further, the bench held that Article 19 (including freedom of speech, expression, and movement) is granted only to Indian citizens. Accordingly, reasonable restrictions can be imposed on the exercise of fundamental rights granted to Indian citizens.

“What is your right to settle here?” the report quoted the court asking, while asking him to move to another country if his life was in danger in Sri Lanka.

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