Overview
- Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court the government will bring back Sunali Khatun and her eight-year-old son on humanitarian grounds, without prejudice to its claim that they are Bangladeshi and with the option of surveillance.
- The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the Birbhum chief medical officer to provide immediate, free delivery-related care and asked West Bengal to look after the child.
- The court noted she would be brought to Delhi, where she was detained in June, with the possibility of shifting her to Birbhum to stay near family.
- A Chapai Nawabganj court in Bangladesh granted humanitarian bail on December 2 to Khatun, her son, her husband and others who were jailed there for illegal entry.
- The case stems from Calcutta High Court orders quashing June deportations as procedurally improper; the Centre is appealing, and the Supreme Court will take up the status of other deportees and citizenship questions next week.