Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the Centre to bring back two West Bengal families, including a pregnant woman and two minors, who were deported to Bangladesh in June after being detained in Delhi on suspicion of being illegal immigrants.
A division bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Ritabrata Kumar Mitra gave the Centre four weeks to ensure the return of Sunali Khatun, who is eight months pregnant, her husband Danish Sheikh, their minor son Sabir Sheikh, along with another couple, Sweety Bibi and Kurban Sheikh, and their minor son Imam Dewan. Both families hail from Birbhum district.
The families’ lawyer, Raghunath Chakraborty, argued that they had been residents of Birbhum decades before the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. Despite producing Aadhaar and other documents, they were picked up in Delhi’s Rohini area on June 24 and deported on June 26 without informing the West Bengal government.
Delhi Police had claimed the Bangladesh government had not confirmed the deportees as Indian nationals, while the Centre’s counsels questioned the Calcutta High Court’s jurisdiction. However, the bench rejected these arguments, stating: “We have ordered the persons to be returned to India. Four weeks’ time is being given,” while also refusing to postpone the directive.
The decision drew mixed political reactions. TMC Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam, who provided legal aid to the families, hailed the judgment as a “victory for Bengal” and thanked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her support. BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar, however, described the deportation as a “mistake” but reiterated that illegal migration from Bangladesh remains a national concern.
