New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Union government on a plea seeking release of Rohingya refugees allegedly detained in jails and detention centres across the country.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra sought response of the Centre in the matter by November 20.

"Issue notice, returnable on 20.11.2023. Dasti service, in addition, is permitted," the bench ordered.

The plea alleged that continued detention of refugees from Myanmar offends Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

The Rohingya people, who have faced exodus from Myanmar seven years ago, fled to different neighboring countries, including India. In August, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had said that repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar is still not safe. Earlier attempts at repatriation failed twice in 2018 and 2019 amid the refugees' lack of trust in the Myanmar government. IANS