Cal HC seeks MHA report on Delhi cops pushing 6 Bengalis into B’desh
Times of India | 12 July 2025
Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Friday asked the Union ministry of home affairs to submit a report on the recent deportation of six people, including children, to Bangladesh by the Delhi Police. The court set a deadline of Wednesday and also asked the Bengal chief secretary to get in touch with his Delhi counterpart and submit a report.
The directive followed two habeas corpus writs that came up for hearing before the bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Reetobroto Kumar Mitra on Friday. One alleged that an eight-year-old boy and his parents had been deported to Bangladesh and the other alleged the deportation of another three-member family (relatives of the first family).
"In view of the nature of the allegations, prima facie, we are of the opinion that the writ petition is maintainable and this court cannot be a silent spectator," the bench said, referring to one of the cases, and directed officials "to produce all relevant documents to enable this court to infer as to whether the three had been illegally detained".
The same bench, hearing a similar petition on the illegal detention of Bengali-speaking migrants by cops in Odisha, had said it could not remain a "silent spectator" to what was going on and the Indian Constitution allowed it to "address violations of fundamental rights, even if the detention occurred in another state". The counsel for the petitioners who brought up the issue on Friday submitted that the media had reported about the "deportations".
The "deported" people were citizens of India, the counsel submitted, and had relevant documents to prove that. A mail had been sent to Delhi Police officials but there was no reply yet, the petitoners' counsel said. The deportation was done without taking them to the Foreigners' Tribunal, the counsel added. The state counsel present in court endorsed this.
The counsel for the second family from Birbhum submitted that they were picked up from a location within Rohini police jurisdiction and deported to Bangladesh.
Justice Chakraborty referred to Thursday's petition and said the bench was going to pass similar directives, prompting the petitioners' counsel to point out that Odisha detainees had been released and were back home.
Justice Chakraborty asked senior counsel Dhiraj Trivedi, representing the centre, to assist the court.