HC seeks report on detention of Bengal workers in Odisha, poses 6 key questions

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the Chief Secretary of West Bengal to coordinate with the Chief Secretary of Odisha and ensure submission of all necessary documents and instructions regarding the alleged illegal detention of two Bengali-speaking migrant workers in Odisha.

The court also ordered that a nodal officer be appointed to liaise with Odisha authorities for effective compliance.

A division bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Reetobroto Mitra sought written responses and documentary evidence on six specific issues: (i) whether the individuals are detained or missing, (ii) if detained, whether such detention was made under a court’s order, (iii) the grounds of such detention, (iv) whether the detainees were informed of those grounds, (v) whether the arrests are linked to any ongoing investigation, and (vi) whether there has been any correspondence between the governments of West Bengal and Odisha.

The court was hearing two separate habeas corpus petitions filed by Nasima Mondal and Rajjak Sk., who alleged that their sons—Rakibul Islam and Sainur Islam—had been working as migrant labourers in Jagatsinghpur district under Balikuda police station when they were picked up by police on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals, based solely on their Bengali language. The petitions stated that both men were held beyond 24 hours without being produced before a magistrate and without identity verification.

The bench observed that it is empowered under Article 226 of the Constitution to issue writs even for incidents outside its territorial jurisdiction.

“This Court cannot be a silent spectator,” it noted, adding that the writ petitions are prima facie maintainable in light of the fundamental rights issues raised.

The matter will be taken up again on July 14 at noon. The petitioners were directed to serve copies of the order on respondents and file affidavits-of-service before the next hearing. Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress posted on X: “Five labourers from Hariharpara, who went to Odisha seeking honest work, have been thrown behind bars on the baseless charge of being ‘Bangladeshi nationals.’

They have been languishing in lock-up for 15 days! This is not an isolated incident. From Gujarat to Maharashtra to Madhya Pradesh, @BJP4India-ruled states are running coordinated crackdowns on Bengali-speaking workers.

Valid documents are ignored, and citizenship is questioned simply because of their identity. This is institutionalised targeting.

This is XENOPHOBIC ABUSE of POWER. And we will resist every bit of it. BENGAL will NOT BOW DOWN to INJUSTICE.”