A detention order may be issued by the Union government, they said, citing Section 3(2)(g) of the Foreigners Act of 1946.
HYDERABAD: Ruling that it was unlawful for the State government to detain and confine Rohingya to Cherlapally prison while they were awaiting deportation, the Telangana High Court on Thursday ruled in favour of all the five writ petitions submitted by the Rohingya who had been staying in Hafez Babanagar in Hyderabad.
A bench of the High Court comprising Justice Shameem Akhter and Justice EV Venugopal said that as per Section 3(2)g of the Foreigners Act of 1946, the Rohingya cannot be confined to the prison and their detention was unlawful.
The Rohingya had filed the writ petitions challenging GO 538, dated October 4, 2021 allowing the authorities to confine and detain them in the Cherlapally Central Jail while they await deportation proceedings and the outcome of criminal cases brought against them.
Counsels appearing for the petitioners told the court that the State government lacks the authority to issue a GO authorising the detention and confinement of the Rohingya. A detention order may be issued by the Union government, they said, citing Section 3(2)(g) of the Foreigners Act of 1946.
They also criticised the State government’s decision to confine them to prison as the order specifies that they should be held there, yet nowhere in the GO is the Central Prison designated as a detention facility.
The contrast between Sections 3(2)(e) and 3(2)(g) of the Foreigners Act, 1946 was explained to the court by T Surya Karan Reddy, Additional Solicitor General appearing for the Union of India. The contested GO was issued in the State government’s name in accordance with the Union government’s delegation of authority under Section (2)(e). The court looked at the purpose of the impugned GO, which is to confine Rohingya to a specific place pending criminal proceedings and deportation in line with Section 3(2) of the Foreigners Act, 1946, even though the term “detained” is used in the challenged GO.
The State government, represented by Government Pleader (GP), argued that the Rohingya detainees at Cherlapally jail are separated from the pre-trial suspects and convicts. Additionally, all of the amenities included in the rules for model detention centres / camps that the Ministry of Home Affairs provided are being used, he said.
