THE CALCUTTA High Court, while while hearing a habeas corpus plea filed by a relative of a family from West Bengal who had been pushed back into Bangladesh recently, questioned the Delhi Police over why the family of three were deported in two days.
Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Reetobrata Kumar Mitra also questioned the “haste” and asked the Delhi Police who the “special informer” was.
“What enquiry was carried out and why, in two days, was the family deported to Bangladesh? Who was the special informer and what information did he have? Only on the (basis of) information they (the family) were taken in… Why this haste? How did your officer come to know they were Bangladeshi? Is there an inquiry report of the investigation conducted by the officer when they were taken in?”
The court added, “We are trying to ascertain how you took the decision…”
Senior counsel Dhiraj Dwivedi, representing the Delhi Police, told the court, “Bodhu Sheikh (petitioner) knew everything, but he hid everything…”
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Ashok Chakraborty argued that the petitions were not maintainable in the Calcutta High Court and should be dismissed, “A prayer was made in Delhi in July and the respondents are from Delhi, and the action taken about deportation was in Delhi. So, nothing can be maintainable here. Deportation was on June 26.
The ASG submitted that “no citizenship ground that claimed that they were Indian citizens had been prayed” and the petitioner had suppressed the fact that the matter had been in Delhi High Court. “Since all the facts were not revealed, it (petition) should be dismissed. They have accepted the deportation. They were detained in Delhi, deported from Delhi, they have not said that they are Indian citizens. Everything is being done in Delhi… There is no challenge to the deportation before the Calcutta High Court. The question of citizenship also is important , the onus is upon the petitioner to prove that they (the family) are citizens of this country. It is more than two months nothing has been done by themselves.”
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After hearing all sides, the court gave the petitioners two options – either to withdraw the matter from the Calcutta High Court and challenge the deportation in the Delhi High Court or to satisfy the Calcutta High Court that the matter is maintainable in this court. The matter is likely to be heard on Thursday.
Sonali Bibi, her husband Danish Sheikh and their eight-year-old child are part of a group of six persons who were detained from Delhi, a few weeks ago and allegedly pushed into Bangladesh in June this year.
Sonali Bibi is eight months’ pregnant and her relatives here are worried about the citizenship of the unborn child.
Bhodu Sheikh, Sonali’s father, filed a habeas corpus in the Calcutta High Court praying for the return of his pregnant daughter, son in law and grandchild.
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Another family, Sweety Bibi (32), with her two sons six and 16 years, resident of Dhitora Village under Murarai police station in Birbhum district too were detained and pushed to Bangladesh at the same time. Her relatives also filed a habeas corpus in the Calcutta High Court.
Both families were detained at the K N Katju Marg police station in New Delhi and “deported as they were Bangladeshi citizens,” the Delhi Police had said earlier.
