4 hrs ago
Calcutta High Court Questions Chhattisgarh Citizenship Decisions
Four men from West Bengal are being held in Chhattisgarh because officials suspect they came from Bangladesh without the right documents.
They say their names were removed from West Bengal’s voter list, and they have appealed that decision.
A court in Kolkata questioned why an officer in Chhattisgarh was deciding whether they are Indian while those appeals are still waiting to be heard.
The judge said the two processes seemed to contradict each other.
The court asked for the officer to be added to the case and requested a report about the men’s detention.
Nineteen other people detained with them were released after officials checked their records.
The four men remain in custody.
The court is due to hear the case again on October 8.
The Calcutta High Court questioned why a Chhattisgarh officer was determining four men’s citizenship while their electoral-roll appeals were pending in West Bengal.
The four men from Murshidabad have been detained in Bilaspur for more than a month on suspicion of being undocumented migrants from Bangladesh.
Their neighbour, Mostakim Sheikh, petitioned for an expedited hearing of their appeals against the deletion of their names from West Bengal’s electoral roll.
The court called the situation contradictory, asked that the foreign registration officer be added as a respondent, and sought a report on the detentions.
Nineteen of 23 people detained in Bilaspur on September 4 were released after officials verified their records; the four men remain in detention.
- Who
- The Calcutta High Court, four men from Murshidabad, their neighbour and petitioner Mostakim Sheikh, and a foreign registration officer in Bilaspur.
- What
- The court questioned the officer’s citizenship determination while the men’s appeals against electoral-roll deletions remain pending.
- Where
- The case is before the Calcutta High Court; the men are detained in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, and their electoral-roll appeals are pending in West Bengal.
- When
- The court questioned the decision on Monday; the next hearing is scheduled for October 8. The 23 people were detained on September 4.
- Why
- The men were detained on suspicion of being undocumented migrants from Bangladesh, while they challenge the deletion of their names from West Bengal’s electoral roll.
Court and Petitioner's Concerns
Authorities' Stated Suspicion
Who should decide the men’s status
Court and Petitioner's Concerns
The High Court questioned how a Chhattisgarh officer could determine the men’s citizenship while their appeals against electoral-roll deletions were pending before a West Bengal tribunal.
Authorities' Stated Suspicion
The men were detained by the foreign registration officer on suspicion that they were undocumented migrants from Bangladesh; police said their names had been struck off West Bengal voter lists during the SIR.
Evidence of Indian residence and citizenship
Court and Petitioner's Concerns
The petitioner’s counsel said the men appeared on the 2002 electoral roll and had voted in the May West Bengal Assembly elections.
Authorities' Stated Suspicion
Authorities detained the men for checks relating to suspected undocumented status; the report does not provide a detailed response from the authorities to the counsel’s claims.
Key facts
- People still detained
- Four men: Nasiruddin Sheikh, Laltu Sheikh, Safikul Islam and Sabir Sheikh.
- Origin
- The men are from Murshidabad district, West Bengal.
- Detention location
- Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh.
- Group initially detained
- Twenty-three people were detained on September 4.
- Released
- Nineteen were released on September 19 after checks of voter lists, administrative records, family details and permanent-residence documents.
- Court action
- The court sought a report from the foreign registration officer and asked that the officer be added as a respondent.
- Next hearing
- October 8.
Quotes
Justice Krishna Rao
Calcutta High Court judge hearing the petition
“If your authority is telling that he is not an Indian, so what will the appellate authority do?”
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“You are playing with people.”
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Sources
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