Kolkata: In a video call from Bangladesh on December 2, 26-year-old Sunali Khatun, a nine-month pregnant migrant worker of Paikar village in West Bengal’s Birbhum district who was pushed into the neighbouring country, broke down. She was speaking to her family – and especially her six-year-old daughter – after 102 days. “I want to come back home quickly,” she told her father Bhadu Sheikh.

Today, the Union government told the Supreme Court that it will bring her and her minor son back on humanitarian grounds, thus splitting Sunali, her child, and the rest of her family.

A judicial magistrate in Chapai Nawabganj, Bangladesh, on December 1, granted bail to Sunali Khatun, Sweety Bibi, her husband Danish Sheikh on a bond of Tk 5,000 each.

Sunali, her husband Danish Sheikh, their eight-year-old son Sabir, and Sweety Bibi with her two minor children Kurban Sheikh and Iman had been detained in Chapai Nawabganj correctional facility since August 20 as alleged "infiltrators."

Present in court were Paikar resident Mofizul Sheikh, the family’s lawyer Shafiq Enayetullah, and local guarantor Faruk Ali.

The bail came with conditions: local police must submit a report on the detainees every 10 days, and the Chapai Nawabganj Model Police Station has been directed to ensure their safety. The group is now staying in a rented house at Nayagola in Chapai Nawabganj. Today (December 3), Sunali is scheduled to undergo a medical examination.

Speaking to The Wire shortly after her release from detention, a distraught Sunali had said, “What was our crime that we were pushed into Bangladesh? I don’t have much time left. I am in my ninth month of pregnancy. Through you, I fold my hands and beg – I want to go back to my country.”

Hours after the court granted bail on December 1, Chapai Nawabganj Model Police Station had summoned Sunali, Sweety, Danish and others. The move triggered fresh anxiety in Paikar. The police later clarified that the individuals were not detained but requested to visit the police station to ensure their security. They were released on December 2.

Mofizul Sheikh is the Paikar resident who has been in Bangladesh for several months as a representative of Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam who is trying to help Sunali and others. Mofizul told The Wire: “Sunali can go into labour at any moment. We are trying to ensure there is no negligence in her medical care. Today there will be a medical check up. But she has the right to give birth in her own country, surrounded by her family. We urge the government to intervene.”

The long legal battle

The case of Sunali and Sweety had been pending before the Supreme Court after the Union government challenged a Calcutta high court order. On September 26, a division bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Ritabrata Kumar Mitra had directed the Union government to facilitate the return of Sunali and five other migrant workers from Bengal who were pushed back across the border.

Two days before the deadline expired, the Union government moved Supreme Court. The West Bengal government subsequently filed a contempt petition against the Union government for defying the high court’s directive.

During hearings, a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi criticised the Union government for allegedly deporting individuals without due process. “There is enough material on record – birth certificates, proof of living with relatives – these are also evidence,” the bench observed. “The allegation is that you sent them back without hearing them.”

The bench flagged "ample evidence" on record, including 1952 land deeds, 2002 electoral rolls listing Sunali's parents as voters in Murarai constituency, and Aadhaar/PAN details contradicting police claims of her illegal entry in 1998 – when Sunali was not yet born.

The court emphasised later that while those who have illegally entered can be pushed back, authorities must first ascertain that the person is not an Indian citizen. “If someone says they were born in India, grew up here, they have rights. Their version must be heard,” the bench said.

On December 1, CJI Surya Kant pulled up the Union government again, stressing the need for clear guidelines keeping humanitarian considerations in mind, especially in the case of a pregnant woman. The matter is listed for further hearing today – a hearing that will decide when Sunali Khatun and others will be allowed to return to India, as immediate repatriation has already been verbally directed by the Supreme Court.

On December 3, the Union government undertook that it will bring back Sunali Khatun and her eight-year-old son Sabir on humanitarian grounds.

From Delhi to detention

Sunali Khatun and Danish Sheikh had been living in Delhi for nearly two decades, working as ragpickers and domestic workers. On June 18, they were picked up by Katju Nagar police in Delhi on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals.

The family believed they had been pushed back through the Mehedi border adjacent to Birbhum. However, after Mofizul Sheikh met them in Bangladesh, a different picture emerged. He told The Wire that the group was pushed across the border through Kurigram in Assam and forced into the waters. When they tried to return, BSF personnel allegedly subjected them to severe harassment and beatings. Danish Sheikh reportedly suffered a head injury.

Sunali’s father, Bhadu Sheikh, told The Wire: “We have certificates from 1952. We were born here, we will die here. Why should we live with the tag of being Bangladeshi? I want my daughter to deliver her child here. Just because we speak Bengali, we have been subjected to this humiliation. I will never send Sunali to Delhi again.”

The bail had given Sunali and her family the energy to fight back. The Union government's decision to split her family will give them a fresh challenge to conquer.

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