The Supreme Court has come down hard against the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), stating that the agency was issuing refugee cards to immigrants residing in the country as if it has opened a showroom here.

Hearing a petition filed by a Sudanese national seeking interim protection from deportation, the apex court said UNHCR-issued cards were not a legal protection for refugees in India to seek relief as these documents hold no statutory validity under Indian law.

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The top court expressed concern over the UN agency’s practice of issuing such cards in the country, amid growing judicial concern over the operations of international bodies in India, news agency UNI reported.

Justice Surya Kant, heading a bench with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, said, “We have t

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