India’s top court reiterates that constitutional protections do not extend to those who enter the country unlawfully, while stressing that custodial safeguards still apply.
In a major clarification of India’s immigration jurisprudence, the Supreme Court has held that illegal entrants and foreign intruders do not have any enforceable legal right to stay in the country. A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi delivered the observations while hearing a habeas corpus petition concerning the alleged disappearance of several Rohingya detainees from official custody.
The Court made it clear that the State has no obligation to “roll out a red carpet” to citizens who have breached the national borders and entered India without legal authorisation. It was clarified that public benefits, welfare amenities and statutory entitlements extended by the Indian State are meant for citizens rather than persons who find entry into this country without legal authorisation.
At the same time, the Bench reaffirmed that the absence of residency rights does not allow the State to subject illegal migrants to custodial abuse. Even non-citizens, the Court noted, are protected against torture and prohibited forms of treatment under established constitutional and human-rights norms.
The ruling reinforces the judiciary’s consistent position that immigration control is at the heart of national sovereignty, while keeping a baseline of human-dignity protections.
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