Navi Mumbai court convicts two Bangladeshi nationals for illegal stay in India

Thane, Dec 24 (PTI) A court in Maharashtra’s Navi Mumbai has convicted two Bangladeshi nationals for entering and staying in India without valid passports.

In his order of December 11, a copy of which was made available on Tuesday, Additional Sessions Judge (Belapur) C V Marathe, however, did not accept the prosecution’s allegation of forgery of identity documents.

During the trial, Additional Public Prosecutor Sandhya Mhatre told the court that Haidar Ali Ashraf Ali (29) and Fatima Gofar Shaikh (34) were arrested in January this year from Koprigaon, Sector 26, for residing without any valid travel documents or legal permits for their stay in India.

Ali was also alleged to have produced a forged Aadhaar card during the investigation.

The court said the two violated “Rule 5 of The Passport (Entry Into India) Rules, 1950” by residing in India without valid papers.

While the prosecution argued that illegal stays by foreign nationals pose “potential threats to the safety and security of our nation”, the defence said the accused were “poor and illiterate” and had entered India solely for “livelihood without any ill-intention”.

“It is not the prosecution case that the accused persons are involved in any anti-social activities after entering into India without valid passport. They have no criminal antecedents,” the court said.

The court awarded a sentence of 11 months and a fine of Rs 500 to each of the convicted persons. Since the two had been in custody since January 14, 2025 (a period of 10 months and 27 days), the court granted a “set off” for the time already served.

It also directed the Navi Mumbai police chief to take steps for their deportation to Bangladesh through the Bangladesh Embassy. PTI COR NR