Rohingya ‘Custodial Disappearance’ Plea: Supreme Court Gives Centre Two Weeks to Respond
Supreme Court granted the Union government two weeks to file its affidavit and listed the habeas corpus petition for hearing on January 13, 2026
CJI suggested that special courts dealing with UAPA and NIA cases should function “like an emergency ward”, focusing exclusively on such trials when they are taken up
The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted the Union government two weeks to file its affidavit in a habeas corpus petition alleging the custodial disappearance of Rohingya persons.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a petition filed by activist Rita Manchanda, which raises concerns over the alleged disappearance of Rohingya individuals while in custody.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the Centre. During the hearing, counsel for the PIL petitioner requested that the matter be tagged with other similar cases pending before the court.
Objecting to the request, the Solicitor General submitted that tagging was unwarranted, but suggested that the matter could be taken up on January 13, 2026, when other related cases are listed.
Accepting the submission, the Bench granted two weeks’ time to the Centre to place its response on record and directed that the petition be listed for hearing on January 13, 2026.
On the last hearing on December 2, the Supreme Court had asked if the Government of India has declared Rohingyas as 'refugees'. A CJI Surya Kant led bench had posed this query while responding to a petition filed against disappearance of Rohingyas. It was told by the petitioner that 5 Rohingyas were picked up by the Delhi police in May and there was no information about their whereabouts. Hearing this, the CJI had asked, "Where is the order of the Government of India declaring them as refugees? Refugee is a well defined legal term and there is a prescribed authority by the Government to declare them. If there is no legal status of a refugee, and somebody is an intruder, and he enters illegally, do we have an obligation to keep them here?"
The Bench went on to add that the matter will be taken up along with similar connected petitions pending before Court. CJI went on to add, "We have a very sensitive border in the North India side. If an intruder comes, do we give them a red carpet welcome saying we would like to give you all facilities?"
A few days after the hearing, a group of more than thirty former judges, Senior Advocates and members of the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) had written an open letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant expressing “deep concern” over remarks made by a Supreme Court Bench on December 2 while hearing a plea on the alleged custodial disappearance of Rohingya refugees. The letter, dated December 5, 2025 had urged the Chief Justice to publicly reaffirm the judiciary’s commitment to constitutional morality and the dignity of all persons within India’s borders, warning that hostile rhetoric toward vulnerable groups threatens both constitutional guarantees and public trust in the courts.
Subsequently, a total of 44 signatories consisting of two retired Supreme Court Judges, six High Court Chief Justices and 36 High Court Judges had strongly objected to the motivated campaign targeting the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant in the wake of his remarks in proceedings concerning Rohingya migrants, including the open letter dated 5 December 2025.
Bench: CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi
Hearing Date: December 16, 2025