New Delhi: India’s top court is allowing the first deportations of Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar since it ordered their identification last year.

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a plea by attorney Prashant Bhushan to let seven Rohingya live in India as they feared reprisal in Myanmar.

They were arrested in 2012 for entering India illegally and have been held in a prison.

The Indian government plans to hand over the seven to Myanmar border guards on Thursday. It says it has obtained travel permits for them from Myanmar.

About 700,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh to escape a brutal campaign of violence by Myanmar’s military. An estimated 40,000 Rohingya have taken refuge in parts of India.