Centre To Bring Back Deportees for Citizenship Verification
On April 24, the court had granted a final opportunity to the Centre to place its stand on record.
New Delhi: The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court of India that it has decided to bring back certain persons deported to Bangladesh to verify their claim of Indian citizenship.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, that the decision was being taken in view of the peculiar facts of the case and would not be treated as a precedent.
"The government would bring them back and thereafter examine their status. Depending upon the outcome, we will take steps accordingly," Mehta said, adding that it may take eight to 10 days to bring them back. The court posted the matter for hearing in July.
The apex court was hearing the Centre’s plea challenging a September 26, 2025 order of the Calcutta High Court, which had set aside the deportation of Sunali Khatun and others to Bangladesh, terming it “illegal”.
On December 3, the Supreme Court had allowed, on “humanitarian grounds”, the entry of Khatun and her eight-year-old child into India after they were pushed into Bangladesh. It had directed the West Bengal government to take care of the minor and asked the chief medical officer of Birbhum district to provide medical assistance, including free delivery, to Khatun.
On April 24, the court had granted a final opportunity to the Centre to place its stand on record.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Sanjay Hegde, appearing for Khatun’s father Bhodu Sheikh, had submitted that the Centre had not clarified its position earlier.
The court had earlier recorded the Centre’s submission that Khatun and her child were allowed entry purely on humanitarian grounds and would remain under surveillance.
Sheikh alleged that the families, working as daily wage earners in Delhi for over two decades, were picked up by police on June 18 last year on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals and were pushed across the border on June 27.
The Calcutta High Court had quashed the deportation of Khatun and Sweety Bibi and their families, residents of Birbhum district, and directed the Centre to bring back the six deported persons within a month, rejecting the government’s plea for a stay.
The High Court orders were passed on habeas corpus petitions filed by Sheikh and Amir Khan, who alleged that their family members were detained by Delhi Police and deported to Bangladesh.
