The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to consider allowing a pregnant woman and her child, who were pushed into Bangladesh earlier this year, to enter India on "humanitarian grounds" while keeping her under "surveillance".
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to seek instructions on allowing the woman, who is in the advanced stage of pregnancy, to enter India through the Indo-Bangladesh border at Malda in West Bengal.
"Give us two days to seek instructions on the issue. We understand the court is asking us to consider the case on humanitarian grounds. We will look into it," Mehta said while urging the court for some time.
Senior advocate Sajay Hegde, appearing for Bhodu Sheikh, father of the woman, Sonali Khatun, said that they were waiting on the Bangladesh side to enter India.
He said that their deportation to Bangladesh has been held illegal and they are Indian citizens.
The bench said the Centre may consider allowing the pregnant woman and her child to enter India and keep her under surveillance in a hospital to avoid any further complications.
Hegde said that if the Centre allows the pregnant woman, then her husband should also be allowed to enter India, as he can't be left behind.
The top court posted the matter for hearing on December 3 and asked Mehta to seek instructions on the issue.
The bench was hearing a plea of the Centre challenging the September 26 order of the Calcutta High Court by which it had set aside the central government's decision to deport Sonali Khatun and others to Bangladesh and termed it as "illegal".
On September 26, the high court quashed the Centre's decision to deport Sonali Khatun and Sweety Bibi, residents of Birbhum district in West Bengal, along with their families to Bangladesh after terming them as "illegal immigrants".
The high court had directed the Centre to ensure that the six deported citizens are brought back to India within a month and rejected the government's appeal to grant a temporary stay on the order.
The high court had passed two orders in connection with a habeas corpus petition filed by Bhodu Sheikh, who claimed that her daughter Sonali Khatun, who was in the advanced stage of pregnancy, along with her husband Danesh Sheikh and five-year-old son hailing from Murarai in Birbhum, were detained in Delhi and pushed to Bangladesh.
Another petition from the same Birbhum neighbourhood by Amir Khan made a similar claim, stating that his sister Sweety Bibi and her two children were detained by the Delhi Police from the same area and pushed to the neighbouring country.
The petitioners alleged that the families, working as daily wage earners in Sector 26 of the Rohini area in Delhi for over two decades, were picked up by the AN Katju Marg police on June 18 on suspicion of being Bangladeshis and subsequently pushed across the border on June 27.
The deportees were then reportedly arrested by the Bangladesh police.
The high court had noted that the Centre stated in its affidavit that FRRO (Foreigner Regional Registration Office), Delhi, being a civil authority, has been repatriating illegal migrants of Bangladesh as per an instruction dated May 2, 2025, issued by the Union Home Ministry in a memo.
Detailing the protocols to be followed for deportation, the memo states that in respect of Bangladesh/Myanmar nationals identified to be staying in an unauthorised manner in any particular state or Union territory, an inquiry will be conducted by the state government or UT concerned, following which the process of deportation will be taken up.
In its order, the high court had observed that "the proceeding for deportation was conducted in hot haste" by the authorities and in violation of the provisions of the memo.
"The detainees have their relations residing in the State of West Bengal...the kind of overenthusiasm in deporting the detainees, as visible herein, is susceptible to misunderstanding and disturbs the judicial climate in the country," the order had stated.
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