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

The appellants were among 25 persons found at a house in Tiruppur on 19 June 2025.

The prosecution case was that they were Bangladeshi nationals staying in India without valid travel documents; Bangladesh National Identity Cards were seized, and the appellants were convicted under Section 14(A) of the Foreigners Act and sentenced to two years’ simple imprisonment and a fine of ₹10,000 each, with one month’s simple imprisonment in default.

On appeal, they challenged the fairness of the Tamil-language proceedings and the translator’s competence, and sought relief concerning the fine and deportation.

The State opposed the appeal and submitted that the appellants had been in custody for nearly 464 days.

Whether the appellants’ convictions under Section 14(A) of the Foreigners Act should be set aside.

Whether the default sentence for non-payment of the fine should be reduced in light of the appellants’ 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 to the appellants’ unauthorised stay in India.

It relied on Shahejad Khan Mahebukhan Pathan v. State of Gujarat, 2013 (1) SCC 570, in considering the default sentence in light of the appellants’ inability to pay the fine.

It also relied on the Ministry of Home Affairs circular dated 23 November 2009, including paragraph 2(v), and Maja Daruwala v. State of West Bengal, 2025 Law Finder SC 4783, for the direction that deportation-related steps be completed within 30 days.

The appellants cited Central Bureau of Investigation v. Narottam Dhakad, 2023 SCC OnLine SC 1069, on effective opportunity and Article 21, but the Court did not separately analyse that submission.

The Court found that the prosecution evidence, including the police witnesses’ account of the apprehension and the seized Bangladesh National Identity Cards, established that the appellants were Bangladeshi citizens who had entered India without valid documents; it therefore declined to interfere with the convictions.

Given the appellants’ poverty and inability to pay the fines, it retained the fines but reduced the default imprisonment from one month to one week.

Applying Maja Daruwala and the Ministry circular, it directed the authorities to deport the appellants, along with their children, within 30 days after completion of their sentences and the default sentence, if applicable.

The convictions under Section 14(A) of the Foreigners Act and the two-year terms of simple imprisonment were confirmed; the ₹10,000 fine imposed on each appellant was retained, but the default sentence was reduced to one week.

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