Government Plans to Repatriate Five Deported Individuals to India for Citizenship Verification
On Friday, the Indian government informed the Supreme Court that it will bring back five individuals deported to Bangladesh in June of last year. This decision aims to look into their claims of being Indian citizens.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta shared this update with a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. He mentioned that the process for their return is expected to be finished within the next ten days.
The statement came during a hearing regarding an appeal from the government. This appeal challenges a September 26 ruling by the Calcutta High Court, which had ordered the repatriation of six people who were sent back to Bangladesh in June 2025.
One individual, Sunali Khatun, successfully returned to India in December with her eight-year-old son after the Supreme Court intervened, allowing her to return on humanitarian grounds. At that time, Khatun was pregnant and later gave birth to her second child in a West Bengal hospital.
The Supreme Court bench, which included Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, acknowledged Mehta’s announcement and scheduled the matter for a hearing in July. The court stressed that this decision should not set a precedent for others in similar situations and that the continuation of their stay in India will depend on verifying their citizenship claims.
The five individuals in question are linked to two families who lived in Delhi and worked as domestic helpers. The petitions to the Calcutta High Court were filed by Khatun’s father, who resided in Delhi’s Rohini area, and a cousin of another woman who was deported along with her two young sons.
Previously, the court suggested that the government consider a “temporary measure” to bring these individuals back for a complete hearing to establish their Indian citizenship. The Calcutta High Court had expressed concern over the government’s actions, criticizing the rushed deportation process that took place without proper hearings.
The government argued that these individuals had not provided sufficient identity documents. However, the High Court found evidence of their grandfathers’ names listed in the electoral rolls of West Bengal and ordered their return to India for a fair hearing.
Moreover, the court pointed to a May 2025 memo from the Ministry of Home Affairs, which stated that immediate deportation is only permissible in urgent situations and after an inquiry. The court noted that there was no evidence of an urgent situation in this case and highlighted that proper procedures should have been followed. It ruled that the failure to adhere to these protocols rendered the deportation order invalid.
