Calcutta High Court Orders Return of Bengal Family Deported to Bangladesh
The Calcutta High Court has directed that residents of West Bengal, who were deported to Bangladesh by the Delhi Police on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals, must be brought back within four weeks.
A Bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra passed the order while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed for the return of a woman, her husband and their child. The Court said that law cannot be separated from the realities of life and fundamental rights cannot be treated as empty words. It added that executive authorities cannot exercise powers in an arbitrary or whimsical manner.
According to the petitioner, his daughter and son-in-law were Indian citizens by birth and permanent residents of West Bengal. They had moved to Delhi for work but were detained during an “identity verification drive” and deported to Bangladesh on 26 June 2025, despite a complaint being lodged with the West Bengal police. The woman was reportedly in an advanced stage of pregnancy at the time.
The Delhi Police and the Additional Solicitor General submitted that the detainees had admitted to being Bangladeshi and lacked valid identity documents. They also claimed the deportation was carried out under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and in line with instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
However, the High Court observed that any confessional statement made before the police could have been obtained under pressure, making it unreliable. The judges stressed that suspicion cannot replace actual proof. Since there was no adverse security report and the family had relatives in West Bengal, the Court held that the deportation was carried out in undue haste without following due process.
The Court clarified that the question of citizenship must be decided on proper documents and evidence before the competent forum. While Aadhaar, PAN and Voter ID cards are not conclusive proof of citizenship, the procedure followed by authorities was improper.
Accordingly, the Court ordered that the deported family must be brought back to India within four weeks.
