Justify action: High Court to police on detaining Bangladeshi woman, 3 children

The Bombay High Court has sought an explanation from the Maharashtra government over the detention of a woman alleged to be a Bangladeshi national and her three minor children, directing that the children be released to their father and that none of the four be deported pending adjudication of the case.

Hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by the woman's husband and mother-in-law, a division bench of Justices Sarang V. Kotwal and Ashish Chavan said the state would have to justify its actions through a formal reply.

“The State of Maharashtra will have to justify their action by filing their reply,” the court said in its interim order. The bench also directed that the three children be handed over to their father and be allowed to meet their mother regularly.

The petition was filed by Kanta Subarallu Subbayya and Mohammad Imran Rauf Khan, the mother-in-law and husband of Sabina, who, along with her three children, was detained by Tilak Nagar police in Mumbai on allegations of overstaying visa permissions.

Appearing for the petitioners, advocates Raj L Kamble and Pankaj Dhotre argued that Khan married Sabina in 2011 and that all three children were born in India, are studying here and possess documentary records establishing the same.

The petitioners contended that the authorities had not issued any notice, show-cause notice, detention order or deportation order, nor had they been given an opportunity to be heard before the detention.

Highlighting what they termed procedural arbitrariness, the lawyers informed the court that one of the children, a five-year-old suffering from dengue, had been admitted to Mumbai's Sion Hospital. Despite the child's condition, family members were not being allowed to meet him.

Seeking relief on humanitarian grounds, the petitioners urged the court to permit the children to return home while the inquiry remained pending.

The prosecution, however, maintained that Sabina was an illegal immigrant and claimed that the children had also been classified as illegal immigrants.

After considering the submissions, the high court granted the state time to file its response. In the meantime, it directed that Sabina should not be deported until the matter is decided. The bench also ordered that the three children be allowed to return home, subject to the condition that they do not leave the jurisdiction of Tilak Nagar police station.

The court further directed that the children be periodically taken to the detention centre to meet their mother.

The matter is scheduled to be heard next on July 21.

- Ends