Calcutta High Court bars deportation of Bangladeshi woman until her pending CAA citizenship application is decided

The appellant was convicted by the ACJM, Bongaon, under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 10,000

She appealed to the High Court and sought suspension of sentence.

She submitted that she had entered India from Bangladesh in 2011 fearing religious persecution, that her application for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act remained pending, and that she was due to complete her sentence on 21 October 2026

During the proceedings, the Court noted that an appeal from the ACJM’s order lay before the Sessions Court, not the High Court; this had not been brought to its attention earlier

Whether an appeal against the ACJM, Bongaon’s conviction and sentence was maintainable before the High Court

Whether, notwithstanding the appeal’s lack of maintainability, the Court should issue directions concerning the appellant’s release and possible deportation while her citizenship application remained pending

The Court held that an appeal against the order of the ACJM, Bongaon, lay before the concerned Sessions Court and was not maintainable before the High Court

The conviction had been recorded under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, and the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025 were raised in submissions as potentially relevant to the appellant’s position, but the Court did not determine her eligibility for citizenship or the application of those measures to her case

The Court relied on its inherent powers to issue directions in the circumstances before it, including the appellant’s imminent release and the prospect of her being sent back to Bangladesh

Because the impugned conviction and sentence had been passed by the ACJM, the appeal was before the wrong appellate forum and had to be dismissed as not maintainable

However, the appellant was due to complete her sentence imminently, and the Court considered that she might otherwise be pushed back to Bangladesh while her citizenship application remained undecided

In those circumstances, the Court issued limited directions concerning her post-sentence placement and deportation, without deciding the merits of her citizenship claim or any appeal she might file

It directed that, upon completion of her sentence on 21 October 2026 or earlier, she be released from the Correctional Home and placed in a proper holding centre with necessary amenities.

She was not to be deported to Bangladesh until her application for Indian citizenship was decided.

If she filed an appeal before the Sessions Court, that court was to decide it expeditiously and in accordance with law, uninfluenced by the High Court’s observations; the non-deportation direction would continue pending the citizenship decision

The suspension-of-sentence application was disposed of accordingly