The Supreme Court on Monday expressed concern over the unabated attacks on Indian students in Australia. It also directed the government to file a comprehensive affidavit within two weeks about the steps taken by it to ensure their safety.
"The safety and security of Indian students in Australia is paramount," a bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and A K Ganguli said.
"We are sure that the government must be taking all steps but our anxiety is that, despite the best of efforts on the part of the government, the incidents of attacks are going on," the bench observed.
The court's observation came when Attorney General G E Vahanvati appraised the bench about the steps already taken by the Centre. He said that all attacks on Indian students in Australia cannot be termed as racial. Directing the Centre to file its report within two weeks, the bench asked the government to place all information on the website as anxious parents, relatives and friends of Indian students in Australia are entitled to know the exact situation in the country.
The apex court said the contents of the affidavit and the guidelines should be placed on the websites of the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Overseas Indians and Indian High Commission in Australia, so that parents and relatives are aware of the exact situation there.
Earlier, responding to a notice issued by the court, on a PIL alleging inaction on the part of the government in dealing with the attacks on Indian students in Australia, the Centre had said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself had taken up the matter with his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd on May 29. It had also informed the court that the Australian government was exploring the possibility of amending its existing laws to enhance punishment for racism-related offences.
"The proposed amendments (by Australia) would strengthen the police response to attacks against Indian students. It has also been contemplated to amend the existing legislation to provide for enhanced sentence for racism-related offences," the Ministry of External Affairs had said.
It had also said that the Indian High Commissioner in Canberra and the Consulates General in Sydney and Melbourne are in touch with the Australian authorities as well as with Indian students and their community.
The government had informed the court that a task force has been constituted by Australian authorities to coordinate with various states to address the issue of racial attacks.
Advocate D K Garg, who appeared for the petitioner, said though the government insists that adequate steps were being taken to protect the Indian students, a number of anxious parents were still making inquiries about the well-being of their children.
According to the petition, an estimated 97,000 Indian students are at present studying in Australia and during 2007-08, there were 1,447 Indian victims of robberies, assaults, murder, stabbing and other forms of violence.
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