Bangladeshi nationals must be deported within 30 days after completing their sentence.

On 19 June 2025, police found 25 persons staying at a house in Tiruppur and, following questioning with the assistance of a Hindi translator, alleged that they were Bangladeshi nationals without valid entry documents.

Bangladesh national identity cards were seized, and a prosecution was initiated under Sections 3(2)(c) read with 14 of the Foreigners Act.

The Special Court convicted the appellants under Section 14(A) of the Act and imposed two years’ simple imprisonment and a fine of ₹10,000 each, with one month’s simple imprisonment in default.

On appeal, the appellants challenged the fairness of the proceedings because they did not understand Tamil and sought relief concerning the fine and default sentence; the State opposed the appeal.

Whether the conviction under Section 14(A) of the Foreigners Act was sustainable on the evidence, including the seized identity cards and the evidence concerning the appellants’ nationality and lack of valid entry documents.

Whether the appellants’ sentence, particularly the default term for non-payment of the fine, should be modified in light of their financial circumstances.

Whether the authorities should be directed to complete the appellants’ deportation within a specified period after they serve their sentences.

The Court applied Section 14(A) of the Foreigners Act, under which it upheld the appellants’ conviction for the established offence of entering India without valid documents.

It referred to the Ministry of Home Affairs’ circular dated 23 November 2009, which provides for verification and deportation procedures for Bangladeshi nationals, and to Maja Daruwala v. State of West Bengal, which the Court understood to require completion of the deportation exercise within 30 days.

On sentencing, it relied on Shahejad Khan Mahebukhan Pathan v. State of Gujarat in considering the appellants’ inability to pay the fine and modifying the default sentence.

The appellants also relied on Central Bureau of Investigation v. Narottam Dhakad in support of their fair-trial argument, but the Court did not set out or apply that precedent in its reasons for decision.

The Court found that the prosecution evidence, including the police evidence and the Bangladesh identity cards, established that the appellants were Bangladeshi citizens who had entered India without valid documents; it therefore found no reason to disturb the conviction.

Although the appellants argued that their lack of understanding of Tamil denied them an effective opportunity to defend themselves, the Court did not separately analyse that contention in its reasons for affirming the conviction.

On sentence, it considered the appellants’ poverty and inability to pay the fine, but left the fine and the two-year custodial term intact, reducing only the default imprisonment from one month to one week.

Applying the circular and Maja Daruwala, it directed the authorities to deport the appellants after completion of their sentence and default sentence.

The conviction under Section 14(A) of the Foreigners Act and the two-year simple-imprisonment sentence were confirmed; the fine of ₹10,000 per appellant was also confirmed, but the default sentence was reduced from one month to one week.

The authorities were directed to deport the appellants, along with their children, to Bangladesh within 30 days after they had completed their sentence and any default sentence.