‘We are struggling with 140 crore’: SC rejects Sri Lankan Tamil's plea, says India ‘not a Dharamshala’

The Supreme Court on Monday orally observed that India is not a ‘dharamshala’, and cannot “entertain foreign nationals from everywhere”. The apex court's observations came while refusing to interfere with the detention of a Sri Lankan Tamil national.

“Is India to host refugees from all over the world? We’re already struggling with a population of 140 crore. This is not a dharamshala that we can entertain foreign nationals from everywhere,” Justice Dipankar Datta, who was heading the bench, reported legal news agency Live Law.

The Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by a Sri Lankan Tamil national, challenging a Madras High Court order directing him to leave the country immediately after serving a seven-year sentence in a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

What was the petitioner's argument?

The petitioner, who was earlier arrested on suspicion of being an LTTE operative, had arrived in India on a visa. His counsel argued that returning to Sri Lanka would put his life at risk, pointing out that he has already spent nearly three years in detention without any progress on deportation.

But the bench, also comprising Justice K. Vinod Chandran, was unmoved. “What is your right to settle here?” Justice Datta asked, to which the counsel reiterated that the petitioner was a refugee and that his wife and children were settled here in India, reported Live Law.

Case dates back to 2015

The petitioner’s case goes back to 2015, when he and two others were arrested by the Tamil Nadu Q Branch on suspicion of being LTTE operatives. In 2018, he was convicted under Section 10 of the UAPA and sentenced to ten years in prison. The Madras High Court later reduced the sentence to seven years in 2022 but ordered that he be sent to a refugee camp until his deportation.

The petitioner also claimed that since he had fought in the Sri Lankan war in 2009 as a former member of the LTTE, he is blacklisted in the island nation. Hence, if he is sent back there, he will face arrest and torture. He also said that his wife was ailing from several diseases and his son was suffering from a congenital heart disease.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers, was a Tamil militant organisation that fought for the creation of an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam in the northeast of Sri Lanka.

What did the Supreme Court say?

Justice Datta emphasised that there was no violation of Article 21 of the Constitution, as the petitioner’s detention was in accordance with due legal procedure. He also clarified that the right to reside and settle in India under Article 19 is reserved for citizens only.

When the counsel again raised concerns about the petitioner’s safety if deported to Sri Lanka, the judge responded bluntly: “Then go to some other country," as per Live Law.