– Shabana Javed
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court set aside the deportation of a Birbhum district family to Bangladesh, criticising authorities for “haste” and failure to follow constitutional safeguards.
A division bench of Justices Reetobroto Kumar Mitra and Tapabrata Chakraborty directed the Union government to bring back Sunali Khatun, eight-month pregnant, her husband Danish Sekh, and their young son within four weeks, in coordination with the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.
The ruling came on a petition by Sunali’s father, Bodu Sekh, who said the family, whose members are Indian citizens and permanent residents of West Bengal, was detained in Delhi during an “identity verification drive” on 24 June and deported two days later without due process. Another woman, Sweety Bibi, and her two children were detained in the same operation but were not repatriated.
Government lawyers maintained that Sunali and Danish admitted to being Bangladeshi nationals and lacked valid documents, citing the Foreigners Act, 1946, and noted that they had earlier withdrawn a challenge in the Delhi High Court. However, the Calcutta High Court rejected these claims, citing a May 2 Ministry of Home Affairs memo mandating a 30-day verification process with the detainees’ home state before deportation. The court found that the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in Delhi ignored this directive, violating constitutional principles of fairness.
The judges also flagged inconsistencies in official records, including the claim that Sunali entered India in 1998 despite her Aadhaar and PAN cards showing a 2000 birth year. Declaring the deportation a violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, the court underscored the principle of non-refoulement and the necessity of procedural fairness even for non-citizens.
The Centre’s request to stay the order was refused. Rights groups say the case reflects a wider pattern, alleging that at least 30 Bengali-speaking residents of West Bengal have been summarily expelled in recent years, some later returned after documentation checks.
