Supreme Court grants 2 weeks time to Centre to reply on plea alleging custodial disappearance of Rohingyas

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted the Union government two weeks time to file its affidavit in a habeas corpus petition alleging custodial disappearance of few Rohingyas detained by the Delhi police in May.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi gave further time to the Centre on the petition filed by rights activist, Rita Manchanda.

The lawyer for the petitioner asked the court to tag the instant plea with other similar cases.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, objected to the argument of the petitioner and submitted that tagging was unwarranted.

He asked the court to take up the matter for hearing on January 13, 2026, when other related cases are also listed.

The plea raised serious concerns over the alleged disappearance of certain Rohingya individuals while in the custody of the Delhi police.

On December 2, the court had questioned the legal status of Rohingyas living in India, and asked that whether people who entered the country illegally without any valid document should be given a "red carpet welcome" while many Indian citizens continue to struggle with poverty.

The bench had posed this query while responding to a petition filed against the disappearance of Rohingyas.

The petitioner claimed that five Rohingyas were picked up by the Delhi police in May and there was no information about their whereabouts.