Overview
- Sunali Khatun, 26, and her eight-year-old son crossed back into India at Mahadipur on December 5 and were taken to Malda Medical College for checks as she is in an advanced stage of pregnancy.
- The Supreme Court prodded the Centre to allow her return on humanitarian grounds and noted that, under Indian law, her Indian father’s citizenship confers citizenship on her and her child.
- The court directed that West Bengal provide medical care and that Sunali be taken to her family in Birbhum rather than to Delhi, as initially proposed by the Union government.
- Their June pushback followed Delhi Police detention and an FRRO order, a process the Calcutta High Court later found hasty and improper while ordering repatriation within four weeks on September 26.
- All six deported individuals were jailed in Bangladesh before being granted bail on December 1, and there is still no clarity on when the remaining four will be brought back.