HC orders repatriation of Birbhum residents from B’desh
The Statesman | 28 September 2025The Division Bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Reetabroto Kumar Mitra of Calcutta High Court today in a ruling ordered the Centre to take steps to repatriate the six members of the deported family from Bangladesh in four weeks but also rejected the prayer of the Centre to keep the case in abeyance for the time being.
The case was pertained to Delhi Police deporting Sunali Bibi, a resident of Paikar, Birbhum, along with her husband and children to Bangladesh allegedly for speaking Bengali, and not having verified the documents properly or cross-checking their citizenship with the West Bengal government.
There was also an allegation that in Bangladesh, they had been arrested while Sunali Khatoon was nine-month pregnant.
The family of Sunali Bibi was living at Rohini in Sector 26 of Delhi as migrant workers, allegedly eking out their livelihood as rag-pickers.
They were arrested by Delhi Police on 17 June and were deported to Bangladesh as part of a push back policy of the Centre on 26 June.
The same story was repeated in the case of another family, of Sweety Bibi, who too hailed from Birbhum and she and her two children were deported to Bangladesh.
The case was first heard by the Supreme Court, which in turn, sent the case to Calcutta High Court to adjudicate the case while asking it to deliver necessary rulings following proper vetting of their citizenship issue.
TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee wrote in his X handle: “Today, the long arm of the law has finally caught up. The Hon’ble Calcutta High Court has held the FRRO (Delhi) detention and deportation order unlawful and directed the immediate repatriation of six people, including the pregnant woman from BIRBHUM, who were labelled “BANGLADESHI MIGRANTS” and expelled.
This judgement lays bare a CRUEL and SYSTEMATIC campaign of harassment aimed at Bengalis by the Bangla-Birodhi Zamindars. We will hold the ones responsible to account, in courts, in public debate and at the polls. The people of Bengal will not tolerate XENOPHOBIA, HUMILIATION, or the POLITICS OF EXCLUSION. Come 2026, those who trafficked in fear and persecution will face a decisive verdict from the electorate.
Justice has begun to be served. Our resolve to protect the dignity, rights and language of the people of Bengal remains unshaken.
