The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday expressed concern over allegations that people from West Bengal were deported from Delhi to Bangladesh for speaking Bengali, calling the reports “alarming”.
The Division Bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra was hearing habeas corpus petitions filed by relatives of migrants from Birbhum district, who were allegedly detained and deported last month.
Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, appearing for the West Bengal government, said, “This is a family from Birbhum district… Who will decide if someone is Bangladeshi? Not the police, but the appropriate authority… All these cases, I have gone through the reports, it is very alarming.”
Bandyopadhyay urged the Court to direct the Centre to disclose how many such individuals had been deported.
However, the Central government’s counsel pushed back against the claim, saying no one was deported solely for speaking Bengali. He also pointed out that the families had already approached the Delhi High Court — a fact allegedly concealed from the Calcutta High Court.
The Bench took strong exception to this omission, warning the petitioner’s side: “Don’t play tricks on us. The Court process cannot be misused.”
Both the Centre and the West Bengal government have been directed to file affidavits, with the matter set to be heard again on a later date.
Case: Bhodu Sekh vs Union of India & Ors – Available on LAWFYI.IO
