NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday disposed of a batch of petitions filed by the Centre challenging a Calcutta High Court order directing the repatriation to India of certain Bengali-speaking persons who had been sent to Bangladesh after being suspected of being foreigners.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana recorded the Centre's submission that the individuals had been brought back to India “as a special case”.
“Since the individuals had returned, there was consequently no reason to keep the proceedings pending,” the bench said while disposing of the petitions. It, however, clarified that the legal questions arising from the case would remain open.
The development followed an undertaking given by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta before the Supreme Court in May that the Centre would bring back the individuals on humanitarian grounds and subsequently verify their citizenship claims.
Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, appearing for some of the respondents, acknowledged the development and thanked Mehta for his intervention in resolving the matter.
The case arose from directions issued by the Calcutta High Court in September 2025 on habeas corpus petitions filed by relatives of people who had allegedly been detained and sent to Bangladesh on suspicion of being foreign nationals.
The high court had directed the Centre to facilitate the return of six persons, including Sunali Khatun, Danish Sheikh, Sabir Sheikh, Sweety Bibi, Kurban and Imam.
In May, the Centre had told the Supreme Court that the decision to bring the individuals back would be taken in view of the “peculiar facts and circumstances” of the case and would not be treated as a precedent in other matters. The government had said their citizenship status would be examined after their return.
The Supreme Court had earlier intervened in the case involving Sunali Khatun, allowing her and her eight-year-old son to enter India on humanitarian grounds. Khatun was pregnant at the time.
With the individuals now back in India, the Supreme Court said no further orders were required in the pending pleas and disposed of the batch while leaving the questions of law open.
(With inputs from PTI)
