A Thane court in Maharashtra sentenced eight citizens of Myanmar to two years imprisonment and ordered them to be expelled from the country after the completion of this period.
Additional Sessions Judge GT Pawar said in a judgment on June 10 that refugee cards issued by the United Nations Refugee High Commissioner (UNHCR) cannot be considered valid to live in India as India have not signed a 1951 refugee treaty. A copy of the verdict was available on Saturday.
The court convicted the eight people under the Foreign (Civil) Act, 1946 and also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on each. Another accused Riyaz Ahmed Akbar Ali Sheikh, who is an Indian citizen, was acquitted for lack of evidence. He was accused of helping these people.
According to the case, the Uttan Sagri police of Thane district raided the Chowkgaon Jetty on 26 February 2024 on the basis of secret information, from where eight civilians of Myanmar were arrested.
The judge said in the judgment, however, the accused number one to eight has UNHCR cards … but India is not a signator of the United Nations Refugee Agreement, 1951 and its 1967 protocol … In such a situation, I have come to the conclusion that all these accused are foreigners and are living here without legitimate documents. The court ordered that the eight convicts be sent back to Myanmar after completing their sentence.