NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to examine a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging that Bengali-speaking migrant workers are being detained across several states of the country on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals.
Issuing notice, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi sought responses of the Centre and the governments of Odisha, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, and West Bengal in the matter.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board, submitted that the detentions are creating panic among Bengali-speaking migrants across the country and pressed for an interim order to be issued against the detentions.
"Let them verify, no problem. The problem is that they are detaining these migrants. Some are being tortured. It is causing panic. The Foreigners Act does not authorise the government to detain people on suspicion that they are foreigners, " he said.
However, the Justice Surya Kant-led Bench refused to pass any interim directions, observing: "If we pass any interim orders, there will be consequences, especially for those who have illegally crossed the border and need to be deported under the law."
The apex court remarked that the state government where these migrant workers are employed has the right to inquire with their state of origin about their bona fides. It asked whether any nodal agency or authority existed under any statutory framework to coordinate between the state of origin and the state where migrants work.
Further, the Justice Surya Kant-led Bench mulled for the introduction of some mechanism to verify bona fide workers - such as the state of origin issuing a card that the local police could accept as prima facie proof that the holder had come for livelihood.