Centre moves SC over Calcutta HC order to return ‘deported’ Birbhum family from B’desh

Kolkata: The Centre has reportedly moved the Supreme Court over a Calcutta High Court order that directed it to bring back a family of migrant labourers from Birbhum who were “illegally” detained in Delhi and deported to Bangladesh.

It was learnt that the Union government has recently filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the apex court in connection with the case of Bhodu Sheikh, who had filed a habeas corpus petition at the High Court. The matter is expected to come up for hearing soon.

Sheikh had alleged that his daughter, Sunali Khatun, her husband Danish Sekh, and their son Sabir were detained in Delhi on June 24, 2025, during an “identity verification drive” and deported two days later to Bangladesh.

The family was reportedly preparing to approach the High Court again on Monday, as the four-week deadline to bring back Sunali and five others ended last Friday.

A division bench of the Calcutta High Court, in its late-September judgment, had quashed the detention and deportation of the Birbhum family, directing the Centre and Delhi Police to ensure their return from Bangladesh within four weeks.

The court had noted that Sunali, who was in an advanced stage of pregnancy, was taken into custody without prior notice along with other Bengali-speaking residents. The deportation, the bench said, was carried out “in hot haste,” with the family being flown out via Guwahati to Bangladesh.

The HC judges further observed that the deportation order dated June 26 violated the Ministry of Home Affairs’ May 2, 2025 memorandum, which mandates that suspected foreigners claiming Indian citizenship be held in a detention centre for up to 30 days while their claims are verified with their home state. “Admittedly, no such enquiry was conducted through West Bengal authorities, despite the family being permanent residents of Birbhum,” the bench had noted.

The court had directed the Union of India, Delhi Police and West Bengal authorities to coordinate with the Indian High Commission in Dhaka to bring the family back. A plea to stay the order was also rejected.