The prevention of refoulement (translated roughly as the 'turning back' of refugees), which includes both the rejection of refugees at the border as well as the deportation of refugees from inside India, lies at the very heart of refugee protection. Unfortunately, the scholars who identify the right of non-refoulement under Indian law overestimate the amount of legal protection for refugees in India. A sober assessment of Indian law reveals that refugees are not entitled to non-refoulement unless India adopts new legal obligations. Any refugee policies pursued by the government of India should be based on sound analyses of existing domestic law vis-à-vis international standards.
