India not dharamshala: SC

The counsel submitted that the petitioner was a refugee and that his family had already settled in India, to which the apex court asked, 'what is your right to settle here?'

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The Supreme Court Monday observed the country was not a “dharamshala” or a public shelter to accommodate foreign nationals from across the globe.

A bench of justices Dipankar Datta and K Vinod Chandran was hearing a plea challenging an order of the Madras High Court directing the petitioner, a Sri Lankan citizen, to leave the country after finishing his seven-year sentence in an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case.

"Is India to host refugees from all over the world? We are struggling with 140 crore people... This is not a dharmshala that we can entertain foreign nationals from all over the world," the bench said.