Feb 09, 2025 03:35 PM IST
SC on January 31 directed NGO Rohingya Human Rights Initiative to provide details on Rohingya refugees’ settlements in Delhi and facilities available to them.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a plea on Monday from an NGO requesting the Centre and Delhi government to grant Rohingya refugees in the capital access to public schools and hospitals. The plea will be heard by a bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh.
The apex court on January 31 directed the NGO Rohingya Human Rights Initiative to inform the court about the locations where Rohingya refugees are settled in Delhi and the facilities available to them.
The court had asked senior advocate Colin Gonsalves to submit an affidavit detailing the places where the Rohingya refugees are settled in Delhi.
Gonsalves stated that the NGO is seeking access to public schools and hospitals for the refugees, as they have been denied entry due to the absence of Aadhaar cards.
“They are refugees having UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) cards and therefore they can’t have Aadhaar cards. But, for want of Aadhaar they are not being granted access to public schools and hospitals,” he had submitted.
The bench had observed that since there were no aggrieved parties before the court, but rather an entity, the NGO must file an affidavit specifying the places of settlement of the refugees, including whether they lived in camps or residential colonies.
Gonsalves had said that the Rohingya refugees were residing in the Shaheen Bagh, Kalindi Kunj, and Khajuri Khas areas of Delhi.
“In Shaheen Bagh and Kalindi Kunj they are residing in slums and in Khajuri Khas they are residing in rented accommodation,” he had submitted.
The top court had explained that it raised the questions to determine whether the refugees lived in camps, as the type of relief would differ based on that information.
Gonsalves had pointed out that in other cases concerning Rohingyas, the Centre had asserted their right to access public schools and hospitals.
Initially, the top court had believed that since the issue involved Rohingyas in Delhi and the NGO had challenged a Delhi government circular, it would be more appropriate for the matter to be taken up by the high court.
The PIL requests that authorities grant free admission to all Rohingya children, allow them to take exams without requiring Aadhaar cards, and extend government benefits like free healthcare, subsidised food, and benefits under the Food Security Act to Rohingya families, regardless of citizenship.
Recommended Topics
