The Supreme Court has permitted a pregnant woman, Sunali Khatun, to return to India from Bangladesh after the Centre informed the court that it was ready to bring her back on humanitarian grounds. Khatun had been deported along with her eight-year-old son after authorities suspected she was an illegal immigrant. The court has also directed that she receive free medical care and that proper arrangements be made for her child.
The development comes as the apex court hears the Centre’s challenge to a Calcutta High Court order that had earlier directed the government to bring back a group of deportees from Bangladesh. The High Court had observed that proper procedure had not been followed in these deportations.
Khatun’s case reached the courts when her father, Bodu Sheikh, filed a habeas corpus petition before the Calcutta High Court. Sheikh, a resident of Birbhum district in West Bengal, said his daughter and her family were detained by Delhi Police in June during an identity verification drive in Rohini. The family had been living in Delhi for around two decades, working as ragpickers and small vendors.
Despite presenting Aadhaar cards and voter IDs, authorities claimed Khatun, her husband Danish, and their son were illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. They were subsequently handed over to the Border Security Force. According to Sheikh, the family was blindfolded and pushed across the border into Bangladesh near the Mehedi outpost on the night of 26 June. He said they were not allowed to carry any belongings and were threatened with being shot if they attempted to return.
The Supreme Court’s intervention now paves the way for Khatun’s return and raises wider questions about the procedures followed in identifying and deporting suspected illegal immigrants.