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

The Supreme Court on Monday remarked that India is not a ‘dharamshala’, and cannot “welcome foreign nationals from all places”. The highest court’s remarks were made while declining to intervene in the detention of a national from Sri Lanka’s Tamil community.

“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 .

The Supreme Court was reviewing a petition submitted by a Sri Lankan Tamil citizen, contesting a Madras High Court decision that mandated his immediate departure from the country following the completion of a seven-year sentence in a case related to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The petitioner, previously detained on suspicion of being an LTTE member, had entered India on a visa. His legal team contended that going back to Sri Lanka would endanger his life, noting that he has already been in detention for almost three years with no advancement 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 .

The petitioner’s situation dates to 2015, when he and two others were detained by the Tamil Nadu Q Branch on the suspicion of being LTTE members. In 2018, he was found guilty under Section 10 of the UAPA and received a ten-year prison sentence. In 2022, the Madras High Court subsequently shortened the sentence to seven years but mandated that he be relocated to a refugee camp pending his deportation.

The petitioner also stated that because he had participated in the Sri Lankan war in 2009 as an ex-member of the LTTE, he is barred from the island nation. Therefore, if he is returned there, he will encounter detention and abuse. He additionally mentioned that his wife was suffering from various illnesses and his son had a congenital heart condition.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), commonly referred to as the Tamil Tigers, was a militant group advocating for the establishment of an independent Tamil state named Tamil Eelam in northeastern Sri Lanka. Justice Datta highlighted that there was no breach of Article 21 of the Constitution since the petitioner’s detention adhered to proper legal protocol. He further explained that the entitlement to live and establish oneself in India under Article 19 is exclusive to citizens.

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 .