The Supreme Court on Thursday frowned on PIL petitioner Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay for seeking urgent hearing of his 2018 plea for deportation of an estimated five crore alleged illegal migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana wondered whether the court should discharge the role of the legislature in dealing with such issues.

“Mr Upadhyay, everyday I’ve to hear your case only, all the problems under the sun, issues of Parliament members… election reforms, etc. These are political issues, please take it up with the government. If we have to take up all your PILs, then why did we elect the government? There are Houses like the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, go and make your representation… these are bills we have to pass?” the bench, which also had Justice Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, said.

The CJI told solicitor-general Tushar Mehta the court was willing to list the matter if the Centre was ready with a counter-affidavit. Mehta said he did not know which matter the petitioner was referring to.

Upadhyay has sought directions to the central and state governments to take steps to identify, detain and deport illegal migrants, particularly Bangladeshis and Rohingya, within a year, declare illegal migration a cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable offence, and amend relevant laws and rules without delay.

He alleged that large-scale illegal migrations, particularly from Myanmar and Bangladesh, have not only threatened the demographic structure of bordering districts but have also seriously impaired security and national integration.