Central govt agrees to repatriate pregnant deportee and son from Bangladesh on humanitarian grounds

The Central government has assured the Supreme Court it will bring back Sunali Khatun and her eight-year-old son from Bangladesh on humanitarian grounds. Sunali, reportedly pregnant at the time of her deportation, was forcibly sent back along with her family in June after being detained in Delhi on suspicion of being foreign nationals.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant that the repatriation will proceed without prejudice to the government’s legal position and its right to impose surveillance post-return. The court recorded this assurance and noted the plan to return Sunali to Delhi, while also considering shifting her to Birbhum district in West Bengal where her father resides.

The bench directed the Birbhum chief medical officer to provide Sunali with free medical care and urged the state government to ensure the welfare of her child.

This development follows a Calcutta High Court order demanding the Central government bring back deportees whose expulsion procedures were deemed improper. The case arose from a habeas corpus petition by Bhodu Sheikh, asserting that his daughter Sunali and her family are Indian citizens wrongfully deported while working as daily wage laborers in Delhi.

The Supreme Court, during a hearing on December 1, had sought confirmation from the Centre on the possibility of repatriation on humanitarian grounds, which was affirmed December 3 by the government.