SC orders repatriation of pregnant Sonali Khatun from Bangladesh | What the case entails

New Delhi: The Supreme Court directed the Centre on Wednesday to bring back Sonali Khatun, the women who is nine-months pregnant and the child of just eight years from Bangladesh after they were 'pushed back' into the neighbouring country.

The Centre submitted before the apex court an undertaking that it would bring back Khatun and her child on humanitarian grounds. According to the court's direction, the Centre has to ensure that Khatun, given her physical condition, receives free medical facilities, as well as those for her child.

Also Read

Swedish court rules rape by Eritrean refugee ‘not serious enough’ for deportation

"India needs to grow thicker skin": Shashi Tharoor slams deportation of UK professor

India’s most wanted gangsters nabbed in Georgia, US; deportation soon

Sonali Khatun is reportedly the daughter of Bhodu Sheikh, an Indian citizen. Justice Joymala Bagchi observed that if Bhodu Sheikh is an Indian citizen, and Sonali is indeed his daughter, then under the Citizenship Act, the pregnant woman and her children would also be Indian citizens. The bench was headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, who observed that the State had to "bend in humanitarian interest" sometimes.

Sonali's father, Bhodu Sheikh, has waged a legal battle to bring her daughter, her husband, Danish Sheikh, and their son back from Bangladesh. They were sent there earlier in 2025, reportedly on the assumption that 'they were illegal Bangladeshis' in India. A similar thing happened with Sweety Bibi, her husband, and their two children, who were 'pushed to Bangladesh' on June 27, 2025, on the same suspicion.

While senior Advocate Kapil Sibal argued on behalf of the State of West Bengal that the Centre should bring back six other deported people, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta called them 'Bangladeshis' with the Centre contesting their citizenship. Notably, on September 26, the Calcutta High Court called the deportations 'illegal' and directed the Centre to bring back seven deported people within a month. The matter will be next heard on December 16.