Supreme Court asks Centre to bend for humanity
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Central Government to repatriate nine-months-pregnant woman Sonali Khatun and her 8-year-old child from Bangladesh on humanitarian grounds. The Centre had submitted an undertaking before the Court confirming that the family would be brought back, citing humanitarian considerations.
The Bench, headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, instructed the government to provide free medical facilities to the woman, given her advanced pregnancy, and to ensure care for her minor child during their return. Justice Joymala Bagchi observed that the Indian citizenship of Sonali’s father, Bhodu Sheikh, was not in dispute. The Court said that if Sonali was indeed his daughter, she and her children could also be citizens of India under the Citizenship Act.
In a separate but related case, another family—Sweety Bibi, her husband, and their two children—had also been pushed across the Bangladesh border on June 27, 2025. They had been detained earlier by Delhi Police on June 18, 2025 on allegations of being illegal Bangladeshi migrants, and the police action had eventually triggered the border push.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, then appearing for the State of West Bengal, had requested the Centre to also consider the repatriation of six others affected by the earlier deportations. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had opposed this, asserting that the Centre would legally contest their citizenship. He had described them as Bangladeshi nationals and had maintained that their claims required deeper scrutiny.
On September 26, 2025, the Calcutta High Court had set aside the deportations and had termed them illegal. The High Court, acting on petitions filed by Bhodu Sheikh and Sweety Bibi’s family representative Amir Khan, had directed that seven people be returned to India within one month.
The Centre had approached the Supreme Court that week fearing contempt proceedings before the High Court over the delayed return. During the hearing of the Centre’s appeal against the High Court order, the top court had asked Solicitor General Mehta to consider permitting the return of Sonali Khatun and her child immediately, with immigration objections to follow through the legal process.
The Centre had also sought from the Supreme Court a stay on any High Court contempt proceedings, stating it would contest the citizenship claims while still ensuring Sonali’s return on humanitarian grounds.
The Supreme Court had later listed the matter for further hearing on December 16, 2025.
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