Can't be a silent spectator: Calcutta HC on Odisha detaining Bengal migrants
Times of India | 11 July 2025
KOLKATA: Hearing two habeas corpus pleas on Bengali-speaking migrants illegally detained by Odisha police as suspected Bangladeshis, Calcutta High Court on Thursday said it could not remain a "silent spectator" and the constitution allowed it to "address violations of fundamental rights, even if the detention occurred in another state".
A division bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Reetobroto Kumar Mitra said instead of issuing a directive to Odisha govt immediately, it would want Odisha and Bengal to respond to its six queries on whether the two migrants (for whom the petitions have been filed) were missing or had been detained. If detained, whether the act was on the basis of any court order, what were the grounds of detention, and whether the detainees were told of the grounds of their arrest.
The HC also asked if "the arrest is related to any investigation being conducted by Odisha police or officials of the state" and if there was any correspondence between the authorities in Bengal and Odisha. The bench sought the replies before the next hearing on July 14 and asked the chief secretaries of the two states to co-ordinate and place before it all necessary documents.
The families of two migrant workers had last week filed the habeas corpus petition that requires a detained person to be produced in court. '200 migrants held for speaking Bengali in Odisha' Razzak Sheikh from Murshidabad's Hariharpara submitted before the bench that his son Samiur Islam went to Odisha in search of a job but was detained by Odisha cops during a special identification drive and arrested on June 30, 2025. "The arrested person has not been produced in court since then. No arrest memo was issued and his family was not intimated about the arrest. This is nothing but illegal detention," his counsel Raghunath Chakraborty said, and added that the family was not even aware in which correctional home Samiur was being held. The counsel sought disciplinary action against the authorities for the illegal arrest and compensation for the victim. The counsel also submitted that a similar prayer by another victim, Rakibul Islam, was pending and prayers by two others would come up before the bench on Friday. Appearing for Bengal govt, senior counsel Kalyan Banerjee said nearly 200 Bengali-speaking people from the state and some others in Assam had been arrested because they were found speaking Bengali, their mother tongue. "This has become a serious issue," Banerjee said.
Advocate general Kishore Datta submitted that the state would provide all support to the victim to establish his identity and urged the HC to appoint a nodal officer to coordinate with Odisha govt to resolve the issue.