Calcutta High Court Orders Return Of Birbhum Families Deported To Bangladesh

The Calcutta High Court on Friday set aside the Centre’s decision to deport two women and their families from West Bengal’s Birbhum district to Bangladesh, after they were labelled “illegal immigrants”, reported PTI.

The court directed that Sonali Bibi, Sweety Bibi, and four other family members, including three children, be brought back to India within a month. It also rejected the central government’s appeal for a temporary stay on Friday’s order.

The ruling followed habeas corpus petitions filed by Bhodu Sheikh and Amir Khan. Bhodu Sheikh claimed that his daughter Sonali, nine months pregnant, along with her husband Danesh Sheikh and five-year-old son from Murarai in Birbhum, were detained in Delhi and deported to Bangladesh. Amir Khan’s petition stated that his sister Sweety Bibi and her two children were similarly detained and pushed across the border, PTI reported.

According to the petitioners, both families had worked as daily wage earners in Sector 26 of Rohini, Delhi, for over two decades before being picked up by AN Katju Marg Police on 18 June on suspicion of being illegal Bangladeshis. They were deported on 27 June and subsequently arrested by Bangladesh authorities.

Sonali’s family also raised concerns about the citizenship status of her child, should she give birth in Bangladesh. Counsels for both families told the court that the deportations were carried out despite the families providing necessary citizenship documents, including land ownership papers and voter cards of parents and grandparents, as well as state-issued birth certificates of the children.

In its affidavit-in-opposition, the Centre argued that the Calcutta High Court lacked jurisdiction, noting that habeas corpus petitions and challenges to the deportations had been filed before the Delhi High Court. Additional Solicitor General Ashok Kumar Chakarborti stated that the Calcutta High Court petition suppressed these earlier proceedings. The government also cited a 2 May 2025 Ministry of Home Affairs memo instructing FRRO Delhi to repatriate illegal Bangladesh and Myanmar nationals following inquiries by state authorities.

Responding to the court’s order, Trinamool Congress MP Samirul Islam accused the BJP of pursuing an “anti-Bengali agenda”. “The Calcutta High Court exposed the attempt to brand pregnant Birbhum resident Sonali Khatun and five others as Bangladeshi nationals as a lie,” he wrote on X. He added that the ruling represented “a rebuke to the BJP’s anti-Bengali, anti-poor policy” and pledged continued opposition under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership, PTI reported.

(With inputs from PTI)