The Supreme Court has sought the Union government’s response to a petition challenging the alleged detention and deportation of a woman from West Bengal, who her family told FoEJ Media was sent across the Bangladesh border without a proper determination of her nationality.
Her phone and Aadhar card were also taken from her,” Shahida’s husband, Jumman told FoEJ Media.
“They asked me to bring Sahida’s father’s birth certificate. Where was I supposed to get that from? Did birth certificates even exist back then? I barely managed to get mine. Where would I get Sahida’s father’s from?” Jumman questioned, speaking to FOEJ Media
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, issued notice on a plea filed by the woman’s son. Senior Advocate Dr S. Muralidhar appeared for the petitioner.
The petitioner said his mother, Sahida Fakir, a resident of Gobindapur in West Bengal, had moved to Mumbai with her husband nearly two decades ago in search of employment. She subsequently worked as a domestic help in the city.
Petitioner told FoEJ Media, Fakir was taken into custody on July 19 after authorities suspected her of being an undocumented foreign national.
Her son has alleged that she was held for more than 100 hours without being produced before a magistrate, being told the reasons for her detention or being given an opportunity to contact her family.
The plea further alleges that, around five days after her detention, Fakir was handed over to the Border Security Force and transported towards the northeastern part of the country before being sent across the international border into Bangladesh.
The family says Fakir managed to contact them on July 31, after obtaining temporary humanitarian shelter in Bangladesh.
The petition contends that the manner in which Fakir was allegedly detained and removed from India violated her fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19, 21 and 22 of the Constitution. These provisions concern equality before law, specified freedoms, protection of life and personal liberty, and safeguards relating to arrest and detention.
The petitioner has also challenged the Standard Operating Procedure issued by the Centre on May 2, 2025, titled “Procedure for Deportation of Illegal Bangladeshi Nationals/Rohingya”, as well as provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Order, 2025.
The plea argues that the framework gives authorities broad powers to identify, detain and deport people suspected of being foreign nationals, while allegedly lacking adequate safeguards against the wrongful removal of Indian citizens.
In Fakir’s case, the petitioner has claimed there was no judicial determination of her nationality, formal deportation proceeding, consular verification or meaningful opportunity for her to contest the allegation that she was a Bangladeshi national.
The names of her parents also reportedly appear in the 2002 electoral roll. During the recent Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal, however, Fakir was marked as “under adjudication”. Her exclusion from the electoral roll has subsequently been challenged before an appellate tribunal, according to the petition.
The petitioner has further alleged that the nationality verification process laid down in the government’s deportation guidelines was not followed before Fakir was removed from India.
