The Rohingya question before the Supreme Court of India
With a batch of petitions seeking to answer whether Rohingyas are refugees, and a habeas corpus enquiring about the custodial disappearance of five people in May, the Court in January must address crucial issues on the fate of the world’s most persecuted minority in India.
Tanishka Shah
Published on: 18 December 2025, 02:00 pm
ON DECEMBER 16, 2025, while hearing a case concerning the custodial disappearance of five Rohingya persons, the Supreme Court of India granted the Union government two weeks to file its affidavit and scheduled the matter for hearing on January 13, 2026.
The case will be taken up independently on that date, alongside a batch of tagged matters raising broader questions on the legal status and rights of Rohingya refugees. The habeas corpus petition, filed by human rights activist Rita Manchanda, calls for disclosure of official records concerning the disappearance of five Rohingya persons, including a minor, who were taken into custody by officials in Delhi in May, this year.
Advocate Ujjaini Chatterji, appearing for Manchanda requested the Court that the petition be tagged with the related matters, as had been discussed earlier this month on December 2. Chatterji also emphasised that in habeas corpus proceedings, locus standi was not a barrier, as already clarified by the court in earlier jurisprudence. The request for tagging was opposed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union of India.
Despite the opposition, the bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi indicated that it would not rush the hearing or conclusion of such issues and granted the Respondents two weeks’ time to place a status affidavit on record. The Court accordingly listed the matter separately for further consideration on January 13, 2026, while indicating that it would be heard on the same day as other connected cases.
Advocate Ujjaini Chatterji, appearing for Manchanda requested the Court that the petition be tagged with the related matters, as had been discussed earlier this month on December 2.
How five Rohingya refugees disappeared from Delhi
According to the pleadings, five Rohingya persons, Mohammad Sharif, Laila Begam, Syedul Kareem, Kairul Amin and a minor, Ms S, who possessed valid UNHCR Refugee Cards, were taken into custody on May 6, 2025 under the pretext of correcting biometric errors and were assured that once the biometrics were redone, they would return home the same day. However, all five were held overnight at Badarpur police station. They were then moved to the Inderlok detention facility, where they were made to change into identical uniforms with their phones and belongings taken away.
By the afternoon of May 7, all communication with their relatives ceased and none returned home. No detention or deportation orders, embassy communications, exit permit records or any form of official intimation were shared. Around the same time, a United Nations expert launched an inquiry into reports suggesting that Rohingya refugees were abandoned in international waters near the Andaman Islands. In the absence of information, rumours circulated within the community that these missing individuals may have met with the same fate.
