'Can't Deport Someone For Speaking Bengali': State Tells Calcutta HC Over Bengal Migrants Arrested By Delhi Police, Deported To Bangladesh

The Calcutta High Court has called for affidavits from the State of West Bengal, the Union government and the Delhi government over the arrest and deportation of a Bengali-migrant family from Birbhum district, in a habeas corpus plea filed by their relatives.

A divsion bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra called for affidavits upon being told that similar pleas had been preferred before the Delhi High Court, and these parallel proceedings had been suppressed from the Calcutta High Court.

Counsel for the petitioners submitted that after the plea had been filed, the relatives of the petitioner had also been rounded up by the Delhi police, but were later released.

Counsel appearing for the Delhi police, and the Union government submitted that there were parallel proceedings on similar facts which had been instituted before the Delhi High Court, which had not been revealed in the present pleadings. The court took exception to this submission and censured the advocate for the petitioner.

Senior Counsel Kalyan Bandopadhyay, appearing for the state, submitted that the question was whether these persons were citizens or not. He requested the court to seek numbers on how many Bengalis had been detained and how many had been deported in the affidavits being called for.

While union counsel submitted that the court could dismiss the proceedings due to multiplicity, the bench decided to call for affidavits to examine the matter.

After the order was dictated, senior counsel for the state remarked: "Who will decide (to detain)? The appropriate authority is not the police or constable. You cannot pick up someone just because they are speaking Bengali. There are procedures. These three of four cases are very alarming."

In response, the deputy solicitor general remarked, "After the Pahalgam attack, people in Kashmir were also rounded up, everyone was released. People speaking Bengali were not picked up and deported. Hundreds were rounded up, but most were released."

While state counsel took exception to these submissions, the court directed the parties to file their affidavits and adjourned the matter to a later date.

Case No: WPA(H)/51/2025

Case: AMIR KHAN VS UNION OF INDIA AND ORS