Guwahati, Dec 17: The Gauhati High Court on Thursday granted time sought by the Assam government counsel to get the views of the administration about a petition in which 10 Rohingya community people, lodged in jail for seven years, prayed for refugee status by India or deportation to their country, Myanmar.
These 10 people belonging to two related families were arrested in 2014 for entering the country without valid documents and have been lodged in Tezpur Central Jail.
During a hearing earlier this month, a division bench comprising Justices Kotiswar Singh and Malasri Nandy said petitioners have admitted that they are citizens of Myanmar who have been convicted for entering the country illegally.
"The plea of the petitioners is that they be allowed to remain in India by granting them refugee status or be deported to their country of origin i.e Myanmar. The authorities, however, are not taking any decision in this regard and they are languishing in jail," the bench had said.
The special counsel of the Foreigners' Tribunal had sought time from the court to take instructions from the government on the action to be taken in the case of the petitioners.
Granting the counsel time, the bench on Thursday said the matter will be heard again on January 10 next year.
The Rohingya people have moved the high court with their petition in 2017.
