Cal HC calls Bangladesh deportation of Birbhum residents illegal, orders return in four weeks

Kolkata, Sep 26 (PTI) The Calcutta High Court on Friday set aside the Centre's decision to deport Sonali Bibi and Sweety Bibi, residents of Birbhum district in West Bengal, along with their families to Bangladesh after terming them as "illegal immigrants".

The court directed the Centre to ensure that the six deported citizens are brought back to India within a month.

The court also rejected the central government's appeal to grant temporary stay on the order.

In July this year, PTI had visited both families in the Paikar area of Murarai, Birbhum post the deportation of the suspects and reported on the plight of the members living on the Indian side of the border.

A division bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra passed two orders in connection with a Habeas Corpus petition filed by Bhodu Sheikh who claimed that her daughter Sunali, who is currently nine months pregnant, along with her husband, Danesh Sheikh, and five-year-old son hailing from Murarai in Birbhum, were detained in Delhi and deported to Bangladesh.

Another petition from the same Birbhum neighbourhood by Amir Khan made a similar claim stating that his sister Sweety Bibi and her two children were detained by Delhi Police from the same area and pushed to the neighbouring country.

The petitioners alleged that the families, working as daily wage earners in Sector 26 of the Rohini area in Delhi for over two decades, were picked up by the AN Katju Marg police on June 18 on suspicion of being Bangladeshis and subsequently pushed across the border on June 27.

The deportees were then reportedly arrested by the Bangladesh police.

Sonali's family members also expressed concern over the citizenship status of her new-born child if she gave birth in Bangladesh.

Counsels representing both families submitted in court that the forceful and illegal deportation took place despite the suspects providing documents, including PAN, Aadhaar, property title deeds, and voter cards of their parents and grandparents, before the authorities concerned.

The birth certificates of the deported children from state-run hospitals were also provided.

In its affidavit-in-opposition, the Centre claimed that the petition was not maintainable before the Calcutta High Court on grounds that a habeas corpus petition had earlier been moved before the Delhi High Court alleging illegal detention of the said people and a separate petition challenging their deportation.

Additional Solicitor General Ashok Kumar Chakarborti, representing the Centre, had claimed that the Calcutta High Court has no jurisdiction with regard to the matter since the deported persons were detained in Delhi.

He claimed that the habeas corpus petition before the Calcutta High Court was filed suppressing the two petitions before the Delhi High Court.

The Calcutta High Court noted that the Centre stated in its affidavit that FRRO (Foreigner Regional Registration Office), Delhi being a civil authority, has been repatriating illegal migrants of Bangladesh as per instruction dated May 2, 2025 issued by the Union home ministry in a memo.

Detailing the protocols to be followed for deportation, the memo states that in respect of Bangladesh/Myanmar nationals identified to be staying in an unauthorised manner in any particular state or union territory, an inquiry will be conducted by the state government or union territory concerned, following which the process of deportation would be taken up.

In its order, the bench observed that "the proceeding for deportation was conducted in hot haste" by the authorities and in violation of the provisions of the memo.

"The detainees have their relations residing in the State of West Bengal... the kind of overenthusiasm in deporting the detainees, as visible herein, is susceptible to misunderstanding and disturbs the judicial climate in the country" the order stated.

"It was stated that Sunali had crossed over and illegally entered into India sometime in the year 1998. Sunali's Aadhaar card and PAN card reflect her age as 26 years, indicating she was born in the year 2000. Hence, Sunali could not have entered into India in 1998," the court deduced.

The bench took exception to the Delhi Police admittedly breaching the FRRO mandate and ignoring sharing details of the suspects with the West Bengal government, an act, the court observed, "cripples the constitutional grant of fairness and reasonableness".

"(Even) if we take the worst-case scenario of the detainees, that they were not Indian citizens, the steps and procedures laid down in the memo ought to have been followed by the concerned authorities. Not following such procedure' is a clear violation which renders the deportation order bad in law and liable to be set aside," the order read.

The court further cautioned against indiscriminate use of power by authorities, stating officials cannot "exercise their public authority in an arbitrary whimsical manner".

Responding to the order, Trinamool Congress MP Samirul Islam accused the BJP of resorting to lies to push its "anti-Bengali agenda".

"Today the Calcutta High Court tore apart the BJP's sham - their attempt to brand pregnant Birbhum resident Sunali Khatun and five others (including children) as "Bangladeshi nationals" was exposed as a lie," he wrote on X.

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee referred to the court order to claim that voters will seek answers from the BJP on the Bengali harassment issue at the upcoming state polls. PTI AMR SMY RBT SMY NN