The Calcutta High Court on Thursday passed an interim order directing the Central government to refrain from deporting four Rohingya refugee women to Myanmar until August 10 [Fatema Begum & Ors. vs. UOI].

The order was passed by single-judge Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya on a plea by the four women, who continued to remain detained in Dumdum correctional home even after they had served their period of detention on July 20, 2019.

"Since the writ petition contains a prayer for restraint on the respondent authorities not to deport the petitioner to Myanmar, this Court is of the view that until the matter is taken up for hearing by this Court, the respondents shall not give any effect to any order of deportation of the four petitioners, if any such order has been made after filing of the writ petition, till further orders are passed in the matter," the Court said.

The Court also directed the petitioners to file a supplementary affidavit bringing the subsequent events on record and to serve an advance copy of the same to the opposing counsel.

In the meantime, the Court also deemed it fit to direct that the petitioners should be provided with facilities which are commensurate to their right to live with dignity.

The matter will be heard next on August 10, 2022.

Advocate Afreen Begum for the petitioners mentioned the matter on Thursday morning on an urgent basis stating that the petitioners had received a verbal communication from the jail authorities that they would be deported to Myanmar on August 5, 2022.

However, counsel for the respondents submitted that they did not have any instructions for any such order of deportation.

The petition sought a direction to restrain the authorities including State and Central governments from deporting the Rohingya women.

Advocates Dhiraj Trivedi and Sagar Saha appeared for the Union of India while advocates Anirban Ray and Raja Saha represented the State.

[Read Order]