Will enter mainstream, let Centre decide: HC on plea over Rohingya admissions

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea seeking directions to enrol Rohingya refugee children in local schools saying it was the Centres domainA bench comprising Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said the matter pertained to international issues having ramifications on security and nationality and therefore the petitioner should make a representation to the Union Ministry of Home AffairsPetitioner NGO Social Jurist submitted the Delhi government and the MCD were not granting admissions to these children from Myanmar in their schools for want of an Aadhaar cardThe court said the petitioners representation would be decided by the authorities as expeditiously as possibleLet Ministry of Home Affairs MHA take a call on this There are a lot of issues involved We cant get involved Let it go to the MHA the bench saidThe court observed Rohingyas were foreigners who hadnt been officially and legally granted entry into IndiaWhile disposing of the plea the court directed the petitioner to make a representation to the MHA which will decide the same in accordance with law as expeditiously as possibleThe bench referred to the law in Assam saying all foreigners there will be expelled beyond a cutoff date And here you are facilitating them Tomorrow you will have a situation where they will have to be expelled We cant get into this Let the government take a call on this it remarkedAdvocate Ashok Agarwal appearing for the petitioner contended Rohingya children should be allowed to study in local schools pursuant to the right to education under the Constitution of IndiaThe bench however observed permitting school admissions would allow the foreign nationals to join the mainstream which could not be facilitated by the courtThe court further observed They will come in the mainstream We cannot allow this This is a policy domain Let the policy decision be taken by the government It is not for us to take a call Let the ministry take the call The bench opined courts in no other country decided on matters of citizenship and something that couldnt be done directly shouldnt be permitted indirectlyAfter Agarwal emphasised on Article 21A of the Constitution speaking of children and not an Indian citizen the court asked him not to get carried awayWe are not taking the responsibility of the entire worldThen you will say open schools in Africa also Let us not get carried away the court saidThe PIL besides raising the issue of admissions to 17 Rohingya children living in Khajoori Chowk area also said Delhi authorities were not granting statutory benefits to those students who were already studying in their schoolsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever