Supreme Court refuses to pass interim order on detention of Bengali migrant workers: 'If you don't detain...'

The bench said some mechanism needs to be developed to ensure that genuine citizens are not harassed.

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a PIL which alleged that Bengali-speaking migrant workers are been detained on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, however, refused to pass any interim order with regard to the detention, saying any order will have consequences especially with respect to people, who genuinely came from across the borders.

"States where these migrant workers are working have the right to inquire from their state of origin about their bonafide but the problem is in the interregnum. If we pass any interim orders, then it will have consequences, especially those who have illegally come from across the border and need to be deported under the law," the bench said.

It asked advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board, to wait for sometime for the responses from the Centre and nine states–Odisha, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and West Bengal.

"What if an infiltrator enters illegally? If you don't detain, the writing on the wall is that they will disappear," a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said.

Bhushan alleged that people are being harassed by the states just because they speak Bengali language and have documents in that language on the basis of a circular issued by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

"They are being detained while an inquiry is being held about their bonafide and in some cases, they are even tortured. Kindly pass some interim order that no detention will be held. I have no problem with enquiries but there should not be any detention," Bhushan submitted.

The bench said some mechanism needs to be developed to ensure that genuine citizens are not harassed.

The hearing came amid concerns that Bengali-speaking individuals were detained in the national capital on suspicion of being Bangladeshi citizens without verifying their identities. The West Bengal government has slammed the BJP-led Centre for targeting Bengalis, while Kolkata Police introduced a helpline for migrant workers from the state facing harassment and identity checks elsewhere.

(With PTI inputs)