New Delhi: A group of former Indian judges, senior advocates, and members of the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) has written an open letter to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, expressing “deep concern” over remarks made by a Supreme Court bench he headed on December 2 during a hearing on the alleged custodial disappearance of Rohingya refugees.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the signatories underlined that the CJI’s words “carry weight not simply in the courtroom but in the conscience of the nation” and the move to deny constitutionally guaranteed entitlements to refugees “sets a dangerous precedent”.
The letter states that the comments made during the hearing particularly those “questioning the legal status of the Rohingya as refugees,” equating them with “intruders illegally entering India,” likening them to people “who dig tunnels,” and asking “whether such entrants are entitled to food, shelter and education” are “contrary to core constitutional values.” Further, the signatories mentioned that the remarks have “had the effect of dehumanising Rohingya refugees whose equal humanity and equal human rights are protected by the constitution, our laws and by international law.”
The habeas corpus petition in question sought information on the location of five Rohingya immigrants who could not be traced after being detained.
Justice Surya Kant, during the hearing, was reported as having asking: “Where is the order of the Government of India declaring them [Rohingyas] as refugees? Refugee is a well-defined legal term and there is a prescribed authority by the Government to declare them. If there is no legal status of a refugee, and somebody is an intruder who enters illegally, do we have an obligation to keep that person here?” He further stated, “Once these illegal migrants are in India, they claim right to food, shelter, and help for their children. We have many poor people in the country. They have a right over the country’s resources, not the illegal migrants. True, the illegal migrants cannot be subjected to custodial torture.”
The signatories of the letter include former judges Justice A.P. Shah, Justice K. Chandru and Justice Anjana Prakash; senior legal figures such as Mohan Gopal, Rajeev Dhavan, Chander Uday Singh, Colin Gonsalves, Kamini Jaiswal, Mihir Desai, Gopal Shankar Narayan, Gautam Bhatia, Shahrukh Alam; and CJAR members and activists such as Prashant Bhushan, Nikhil Dey, Anjali Bhardwaj, Amrita Johri, Apar Gupta, Vipul Mudgal, Beena Pallical, Annie Raja, Meera Sanghamitra, among others.
The letter argued that invoking domestic poverty to deny constitutionally guaranteed entitlements to refugees “sets a dangerous precedent” and reasserted that the Rohingyas, like any person in India, are protected under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Highlighting the persecution of Rohingyas, described by the United Nations as “the most persecuted minority in the world,” the signatories warned that comparing them to intruders “weakens the moral authority of the judiciary” and undermines public confidence in its ability to protect vulnerable populations.
Addressing Chief Justice Surya Kant directly, the letter concluded: “Your words carry weight not simply in the courtroom but in the conscience of the nation and have a cascading effect on the high courts, the lower judiciary, and other government authorities”. It warned that rhetoric hostile to the dignity of persecuted groups “threatens the foundational values of our constitution” and risks eroding public trust in the judiciary’s ability to protect the vulnerable.