The Kolkata High Court has directed the Indian government to bring back six Indian citizens who were forcibly pushed into Bangladesh after being wrongfully identified as Bangladeshis.
The order, issued Friday by a division bench of Justice Tapobrata Chakraborty and Justice Ritabrata Kumar Mitra, gave the Centre four weeks to ensure the safe return of the victims, including a pregnant woman named Sonali Bibi, who had been living in Delhi for nearly two decades.
According to the family’s petition, Sonali and her relatives worked as ragpickers and domestic help in Rohini, Delhi, before police detained them in June on suspicion of being Bangladeshi. They were later deported. The case reached the Supreme Court on 29 August, which referred the matter to the Kolkata High Court for hearing.
During Friday’s proceedings, the Centre sought a stay on the order, but the High Court dismissed the plea. The bench sharply criticised the government’s decision to deport the family, saying their Indian citizenship was proven and it was the responsibility of the state to bring them back.
Additional Solicitor General Ashok Chakraborty argued that the incident took place in Delhi and questioned the High Court’s jurisdiction. He further alleged that key citizenship documents were withheld and insisted the case was inadmissible. Counsel for Delhi Police claimed the family had not submitted affidavits proving they were Indian.
The court, however, rebuked these arguments, noting that the detention order merely mentioned they were taken from a Bengali settlement. “Does that alone make them Bangladeshi?” Justice Chakraborty asked, pointing out that the law requires a 30-day detention and investigation process before deportation. Yet, Sonali was sent across the border within two days of her detention on 26 June.
The bench also pressed the petitioners’ lawyers to clarify why no direct challenge was filed against the deportation order itself, asking them to establish the legal basis for the relief sought.
With the Centre ordered to act within four weeks, the case has added a sharp spotlight on deportation practices and due process concerns in citizenship disputes.
