The Calcutta High Court on Friday, September 26, struck down the deportation of a family from Bengal to Bangladesh and ordered its repatriation.
The court observed that the authorities deported the family in haste and without considering Constitutional safeguards.
In a stern order, a division bench of Justices Reetobroto Kumar Mitra and Tapabrata Chakraborty directed the Union government to repatriate eight-month pregnant Sunali Khatun, her husband Danish Sekh, and their son within four weeks, coordinating with the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.
According to a report by Maktoob Media, another family faced a similar ordeal. In the second case, Sweety Bibi and her two children were detained in Delhi and deported with Sunali’s family. The order passed by the division bench doesn’t mention their repatriation.
In his petition, Sonali’s father, Bodu Sekh, alleged that his daughter and her family, Indian citizens by birth and permanent residents of Birbhum district, were picked up in Delhi during an “identity verification drive” on June 24 and deported two days later without due process.
The deportees, including three children, were detained by the Delhi police while checking undocumented migrants.
During the hearing, government lawyers argued that Sunali and Danish admitted to being Bangladeshi nationals. The lawyer further said that the couple couldn’t produce valid documents, justifying the deportation under the Foreigners Act, 1946. They also stated that the family had earlier challenged the deportation in the Delhi High Court, but then withdrew the petition.
However, the Calcutta High Court dismissed the objections raised by the lawyers. It ruled that the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in Delhi had ignored the Ministry of Home Affairs’ May 2 memo, which required a 30-day verification process with the detainees’ home state before deportation.
“The respondents have acted in hot haste and have not adhered to the said memo, crippling the constitutional grant of fairness and reasonableness,” the bench observed.
The judges noted contradictions in official records, including claims that Sunali entered India in 1998 despite her Aadhaar and PAN cards showing a birth year of 2000. Terming the deportation a violation of articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution, the bench stated that even if the deportees were not citizens, the principle of non-refoulement and procedural fairness had to be respected.
Court rejects plea to stay the order
The Calcutta High Court rejected the Centre’s plea to put a stay on the order. According to data compiled by the Calcutta Research Group and Know Your Neighbour, at least 30 people from West Bengal have been arbitrarily expelled to Bangladesh.
Many of these were later brought back after the state government verified their documents and intervened. Rights activists and groups have condemned the deportation, accusing the government of neglecting procedure and harassing citizens who speak Bengali.
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