SC seeks Centre report on amenities for Rohingyas

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to file a comprehensive status report, explaining the basic amenities being provided in three Rohingya camps in Delhi and Haryana.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud asked the central government to file the status report on the three camps, located at Mewat, Faridabad and Delhi, within four weeks.

Senior advocates Rajeev Dhavan, Ashwini Kumar and Prashant Bhushan, contended that the questions involved the basic human rights. "We are dealing with a special class of people. They have no place to turn to as they are victims of ethnic cleansing in Myanmar," Dhavan said.

The counsels countered contentions made by Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and senior advocate Ajit Kumar Singh, Mahesh Jethmalani and Sajan Poovayya, who said the people living in slums in various places here struggled with such facilities. "You can't claim privileges for the Rohingyas," they said.

The Rohingyas settled in camps in New Delhi had alleged that basic amenities like toilets, drinking water and others were not provided for them which in turn caused diarrhoea among the children and the elderly in the camps.

The court posted the matter for further hearing on May 9.