Open Access Research Article
STATELESS AND RIGHTLESS: REFUGEE CRISIS, CONSTITUTIONAL MORALITY AND THE GAPS IN INDIA’S LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Abstract
ABSTRACT
When a displaced family flees
persecution and reaches Indian shores, what law protects them? The honest
answer is none specifically does. India, the world’s largest democracy and a
civilization historically rooted in the philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam means
the world is one family, paradoxically offers no dedicated legal shelter to
world’s most vulnerable people.
Remarkably, India hosts over 2.4 lakh (240,000) UNHCR-registered
refugees, yet has no domestic law to protect even one of them. The paper
examines the basic paradox: while Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution
guarantee life, dignity, and equality to all people not merely citizens,
India’s administrative and legislative practice treats refugees as little more
than illegal infiltrators under the archaic Foreigners Act, 1946. The colonial
relic was designed for an entirely different political reality; however, it
continues to govern millions of displaced people today.
Using a doctrinal and comparative
legal methodology, this paper analyzes constitutional provisions, judicial
precedents, and international frameworks. Through this lens, it examines
India’s troubling legal trajectory – from the Supreme Court’s progressive
ruling in NHRC v. State of Arunachal Pradesh (1996), which upheld
Article 21 protections for Chakma refugees, to its deeply concerning refusal to
halt Rohingya deportations in Mohammad Salimullah v. Union of India (2017), this
shift starkly exposes how India’s legal system offers no meaningful protection
even when a refugee’s life and liberty are demonstrably at risk. India’s
deliberate non-ratification of the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967
Protocol further deepen this protection vacuum, leaving refugee rights subject
to political convenience rather than legal certainty.
While existing scholarships largely
focuses on international refugee law obligation, this paper uniquely examines
India’s own constitutional framework as an untapped domestic remedy. It
ultimately proposes a rights-based Model Refugees Protection Framework for
India - One anchored in constitutional morality, the principle of
non-refoulement, and a human dignity. The paper argues that a nation cannot
fully sustain democratic greatness while leaving the stateless without rights.
Published Paper
Author Details
Authors: ADITYA GAJANAN KHADE
Registration ID: 1013200 | Published Paper ID: IJLRA13200
Year: Sep-2026 | Volume: 3 | Issue: 6
Approved ISSN: 2582-6433 | Country: Delhi, India
Page No.: 1279-1306
Article Information
STATELESS AND RIGHTLESS: REFUGEE CRISIS, CONSTITUTIONAL MORALITY AND THE GAPS IN INDIA’S LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Authors: ADITYA GAJANAN KHADE
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Volume 3
- Issue 6
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- AbbreviationIJLRA
- ISSN2582-6433
- AccessOpen Access
- LicenseCC 4.0
All research articles published in International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis are open access and available to read, download and share, subject to proper citation of the original work.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis.