Kolkata, Nov. 1 -- The Calcutta High Court has directed the Bengal police to ensure that a woman arrested at Kolkata airport in connection with criminal cases registered in Uttar Pradesh is produced before the jurisdictional court in Gautam Buddh Nagar within seven days, noting that the state government could not establish that she was wanted in any case in Bengal.
A division bench of Justices Rishad Medora and Tirthankar Ghosh passed the order on a habeas corpus petition filed by Jaynab Ara Khatun, who has been in custody since August 16, 2026.
Khatun was apprehended at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in connection with an FIR registered at Sector 58 police station in Noida on December 24, 2020. Her transit remand was rejected by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate at Barrackpore, as was her bail application.
The court noted that the state had failed to produce any document showing that Khatun was wanted in a case in West Bengal. All 13 cases referred to during the hearing were registered in connection with Sector 58 police station in Gautam Buddh Nagar.
The bench clarified that it was not examining the maintainability of the habeas corpus petition or the petitioner's arguments concerning the reasons and grounds of her arrest.
Taking note of the criminal cases against her, the court directed her immediate production before the jurisdictional court in Uttar Pradesh.
The bench was also informed that Khatun's health was deteriorating. It directed that, if UP police personnel were unavailable, Bengal police must make adequate arrangements and take necessary precautions to ensure her production. The entire process must be completed within seven days.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.