The Supreme Court on Thursday sought response of the Centre and 18 States on a PIl demanding a safe haven for religious minorities — Hindus, Sikhs and Christians who escaped into the country from Bangladesh due to religious persecution.
The PIl by NGO Swajan stated that the minorities fleeing out of Bangladesh were victims of religious persecution in the neighbouring country and should be entitled to the protection provided to victims of persecution in Bangladesh under Section 2 of Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act 1950.
With the problem not just limited to Assam but spread across north India, the Bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Ranjan Gogoi issued notice on the PIl to 18 States, besides Centre, while excluding Jammu & Kashmir and southern States. The petition stated although relief was granted to similarly placed persons from Pakistan and Bangladesh who were displaced during the 1965 and 1971 wars, the religious minorities from Bangladesh were considered illegal migrants and pushed into a no man’s land along the border.