SC allows pregnant woman, child to re-enter India on ‘humanitarian grounds’

The Supreme Court on Wednesday permitted the entry of a pregnant woman and her eight-year-old child into India on “humanitarian grounds”, months after they were allegedly pushed into Bangladesh by authorities.

A bench of Chief Justice S. Kant and Justice J. Bagchi directed the West Bengal government to take responsibility for the child and instructed the Chief Medical Officer of Birbhum to ensure all necessary medical assistance for the woman, Sunali Khatun, including free delivery care.

The bench recorded Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s submission that the Union government had agreed to allow Khatun and her child to enter India “without prejudice to any rights and contentions”, while keeping them under surveillance.

Centre challenges Calcutta High Court order

The court was hearing the Centre’s appeal against the 26 September order of the Calcutta High Court, which had quashed the deportation of Khatun and termed it “illegal”.

The Supreme Court said the woman and her child would eventually be taken back to Delhi, from where they were originally picked up before being deported.

However, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and S. Hegde, appearing for Khatun’s father, urged that she be taken instead to her home district Birbhum, where her family resides. They also pointed out that several other family members, including Khatun’s husband, remained stuck in Bangladesh and sought directions for their return.

Mehta maintained that the government would contest their claim of Indian citizenship, insisting that the group were Bangladeshi nationals and that re-entry was being granted only on humanitarian considerations.

Justice Bagchi remarked that if Khatun proved she was the daughter of Bhodo Sheikh, a resident of Birbhum, it would be enough to establish her Indian citizenship. The matter will next be heard on 10 December.

Allegations of forced deportation

According to Khatun’s father, the families—daily wage workers living in Delhi’s Rohini Sector 26 for over two decades—were picked up on 18 June on suspicion of being illegal immigrants and pushed across the border on 27 June.

On 1 December, the Supreme Court had asked the Centre to consider allowing the pregnant woman to re-enter India, emphasising that she could be kept under surveillance. The bench also directed Mehta to seek instructions on facilitating her entry through the Indo-Bangladesh border at Malda.

Hegde told the court that the deported families were waiting at the border to cross back into India, stressing that the high court had already declared them Indian citizens and termed their deportation unlawful.

Calcutta High Court’s findings

The high court had quashed the deportation of Khatun and another woman, Sweety Bibi, observing that the process was carried out in “hot haste” and in violation of protocols outlined in a 2 May 2025 Union Home Ministry memo regarding repatriation of Bangladesh and Myanmar nationals.

It noted that the families had close relatives in West Bengal and criticised the “overenthusiasm” with which authorities deported them, saying such conduct “disturbs the judicial climate in the country”.

The deported individuals were reportedly arrested by Bangladeshi police soon after being pushed across the border.

With PTI inputs