Supreme Court stays former LTTE member's deportation

Kumarasamy had entered India with his family through Rameswaram in 2002

- Utkarsh Anand

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the deportation of a Sri Lankan Tamil refugee, Bhaskaran Kumarasamy, a former member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who fled to India in 2004 during the final years of the country's civil war, citing a serious threat to his life if sent back.

A bench of justices KV Viswanathan and N Kotiswar Singh passed the interim order while hearing Kumarasamy's plea challenging the Madras high court's decisions from 2021 and 2024 that upheld the Tamil Nadu government's decision to deport him. The bench sought a response from the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government on the current status of the man's deportation.

"Considering that the deportation order is five years and six months old, we would like to be apprised of the status of the deportation. Meanwhile, the deportation is stayed," said the bench, posting the matter for further hearing on August 4.