Kolkata, Nov. 5 -- The Calcutta High Court has restrained the Bengal authorities from deporting a woman and her two children to Bangladesh without following due process of law, observing that their Indian passports must first be cancelled in accordance with the law before any such deportation.

A vacation bench of Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Justice Arjun Ray Mukherjee passed the order on a habeas corpus petition filed by Lebu Miah. He alleged that his wife and two children, all Indian citizens holding valid passports, were apprehended while travelling through Indian territory to Bangladesh on visas and detained with the threat of being pushed back as suspected Bangladeshi nationals.

The state, in its written submission, said the woman and children were carrying several documents when apprehended. However, during profiling and interrogation, the woman appeared to have admitted entering India through an unfenced border area near Kuchlibari and Dahagram-Angarpota, marrying the petitioner and illegally settling in India after fraudulently obtaining an Indian passport.

The court noted that no criminal proceedings had been initiated against them and that it had not been apprised of any proceedings challenging their passports. It observed that they could not be pushed back without being allowed to establish their Indian citizenship.

The bench further held that deporting them without first cancelling their purportedly valid Indian passports through due process was not legally sustainable.

The court clarified that authorities were free to initiate criminal proceedings if any law had been violated and take steps to cancel the passports if found fake or unlawfully obtained.

It restrained their deportation pending due process and directed the authorities to produce the woman and children before the jurisdictional magistrate within 24 hours. The state was also directed to submit a detailed report on the action taken before the regular bench at the next hearing. The matter will be listed after the annual vacation.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.