The Delhi High Court on September 13, 2022, asked the union government to reply on why the Hindu refugee families from Pakistan living in refugee camps in Adarsh Nagar of Delhi have not been issued a no objection certificate (NOC) for electricity connection. The division bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad directed the central government to file a proper affidavit in two weeks.
“Learned Counsel appearing for Union of India is granted two weeks to file an affidavit as to why NOC has not been issued to the migrants from Pakistan who are residing without electricity for the last five to six years”, the bench said.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed on behalf of the Hindu refugees of Pakistan said that all the refugee families were issued Aadhar Cards and were staying on long-term Visas issued by the Government of India (GOI). The PIL further informed that the government authorities were asking for proof of residence from the Hindu refugee families for acquiring an electricity connection, which as per the petition is not needed as per Rule 9(1) of the Electricity (Rights of Consumer) Rules.
The counsel representing the Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) on the other hand argued that the land on which the Hindu refugees are living belongs to the Defence Department of the GOI and in absence of a NOC from the government, the distribution company was not in a position to provide electricity connection. In October 2021, the BJP-led central government opposed the petition in the Delhi High Court which sought electricity connections for the Pakistani Hindu refugee families living in Adarsh Nagar and termed them illegal encroachers who had occupied the government land.
In August 2022, it was reported that around 1,500 Hindu refugees of Pakistan, who came to India to escape religious persecution in the Islamic nation, returned in the last 18 months after they failed to get citizenship due to strict government rules. 25,000 Hindus from Pakistan who are living in India for the last 10-15 years are awaiting to be granted citizenship in India. Only 2,000 Pakistani Hindus have been given Indian citizenship in the last five years. The Hindu families reportedly returned to Pakistan because they were exhausted from the money and resources required to fulfill the legal formalities required to acquire Indian citizenship.
