A Bangladesh court on Monday granted bail to pregnant Sunali Khatun and five others, including three children, who had been jailed in the neighbouring country on charges of infiltration, after they were deported by Indian authorities on suspicion of being Bangladeshis.
On the same day, in India’s Supreme Court, the solicitor-general agreed to seek permission from the competent authority to ensure the return of Sunali and her eight-year-old son, in a silver lining for her, so that she can deliver the child in her own country.
“Now I want to return to my country. I am at a very advanced stage of pregnancy. I can’t bear any more suffering here in Bangladesh. I want my baby to be born on Indian soil,” Sunali said over the phone from Bangladesh after being released from the Chapainawabganj prison in the evening.
Sunali said that since her deportation to Bangladesh, she had endured a long battle, including more than three months of incarceration. She said she was tired of fighting against such odds and wanted the nightmare to end.
Sunali and the five others, including the children, were released from jail following an order of the chief judicial magistrate of the Chapainawabganj court. A source said they would stay in Bangladesh for a few days until they were repatriated to India in accordance with the Supreme Court order.
Mofijul Sheikh, a representative of Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Samirul Islam, sent to Bangladesh to take care of Sunali and the others, said the court granted them bail under the custody of a Bangladeshi national.
“They will now stay near the custodian’s house until they are sent back to India. We hope the good days will return soon,” Mofijul said from Bangladesh.
Earlier, the Bangladesh court had declared Sunali and the others to be Indian citizens and directed the Indian High Commission in Dhaka to take steps to repatriate them to India. However, despite the order issued in October, Indian authorities did not initiate the process as legal proceedings were pending in the Supreme Court.
Sunali and five others, including her eight-year-old son Sabir Sheikh and husband, Danish Sheikh, were detained by Delhi police in June on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals. They were deported to Bangladesh within a few days.
The family approached Calcutta High Court, which on September 24 directed the Narendra Modi government to bring them back within four weeks. However, the Union government did not comply with the order and instead moved Supreme Court.
On November 25, the Supreme Court ordered the Modi government to bring them back to India for physical verification, as the families had submitted several documents establishing their Indian origin.
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to consider on “humanitarian” grounds the return of Sunali and Sabir from Bangladesh.
“It’s only on humanitarian grounds,” CJI Surya Kant told solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who said he would definitely consider the suggestion but at the same, said the government was also concerned that any leeway in the present case should not be treated as a precedent.
The top court said that since there were allegations that the deportees were not given adequate opportunities before being deported to Bangladesh, the Centre should
give the woman and son to establish their citizenship claims.
A source said that according to the Supreme Court order, there is currently a bright chance for the return of Sunali and her minor son. However, it might take time for the others to be brought back.