New Delhi, May 19 -- India is not a dharamshala to accommodate refugees from all over the world, the Supreme Court remarked on Monday while declining to entertain a plea filed by a Sri Lankan national challenging his deportation after serving a jail term.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and K Vinod Chandran said, "Is India to host refugees from all over the world? We are already struggling with a population of 140 crore. This is not a dharmshala where we can entertain foreign nationals from everywhere."

The apex court was hearing a plea challenging a Madras High Court order directing a Sri Lankan Tamil national to leave India immediately after completing a seven-year prison sentence under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 196...