Beyond Borders & Justice: Pregnant Sunali Khatun, Deported To Bangladesh, Returns To India After SC 'Nudge'

Last Updated:December 06, 2025, 05:58 IST

Sunali was accompanied by her eight-year-old son, two days after the SC intervened and nudged the central government to allow her reentry on humanitarian grounds

The Supreme Court, hearing the matter on Wednesday, took a sympathetic view of Sunali's plight. File pic/PTI

Sunali Khatun, a pregnant woman who had been deported to Bangladesh earlier this year, returned to India on Friday through the Mahadipur border in West Bengal’s Malda district. She was accompanied by her eight-year-old son, two days after the Supreme Court of India intervened and urged the central government to allow her reentry.

Khatun’s case gained national attention after the pregnant woman, her husband Danish Sekh, their son Sabir, and three others were deported to Bangladesh in June on allegations of being infiltrators. All six are reportedly members of the same family and hail from Birbhum district in West Bengal. They were arrested by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) under the country’s Control of Entry Act and jailed for illegally entering without travel documents. Poll-bound West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress has accused Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states of detaining hundreds of migrant workers from the state and declaring them Bangladeshi infiltrators just because they speak Bengali. The BJP has denied this and accused the TMC of facilitating infiltrators.

Sunali’s family filed a petition pleading for her return, arguing that her separation from her husband and the risks associated with giving birth in a foreign country constituted extreme hardship.

The Supreme Court, hearing the matter on Wednesday, took a sympathetic view of her plight. It “nudged the central government to permit her re-entry on humanitarian grounds", acknowledging the exceptional circumstances of her pregnancy and the right of the family to remain unified. The court’s approach focused less on the technicalities of immigration law and more on the constitutional and humane dimensions of the situation.

The SC also orally suggested that Sunali’s citizenship could be verified based on her father Bhodu Sekh’s citizenship documents.

Following the court’s strong suggestion, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs quickly coordinated the necessary arrangements for her return. On Friday afternoon, Sunali Khatun and her son crossed the border checkpost, where they were received by Indian officials before being reunited with her family. She was taken to Malda Medical College and Hospital for examination.

Legal experts noted the significance of the ruling, emphasising that while the judiciary respects the state’s authority over immigration, the Supreme Court utilised its inherent power to push the executive towards compassionate action in extraordinary cases.

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