Madras HC Upholds 2-Year Sentences For 10 Bangladeshi Nationals, Directs Authorities To Deport Them Within 30 Days Of Sentence Completion

The appellants were among 19 persons convicted by the Sessions Judge, Special Court for Trial of SC/ST Cases, Tiruppur, in S.C. No. 178 of 2025.

The prosecution case was that they were Bangladeshi nationals who had entered and remained in India without valid travel documents; three appellants were also found with forged Aadhaar and PAN cards.

The trial court convicted the appellants under Section 14A of the Foreigners Act, 1946, and convicted three of them additionally under Sections 336(3) and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).

It imposed two years’ simple imprisonment and fines, with sentences to run concurrently.

The appellants’ appeal under Section 415(2) of the BNSS principally challenged the sentence, not the finding of guilt; they sought credit for their time in custody and reduction of sentence.

The appeal was brought under Section 415(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS).

The convictions and sentences concerned Section 14A of the Foreigners Act, 1946, and, for three appellants, Sections 336(3) and 340(2) of the BNS.

The Court treated the imprisonment imposed as the minimum sentence for the Foreigners Act offence and found no infirmity in the sentences imposed for the offences.

On deportation, it referred to the Supreme Court’s observations in M/s. Maja Daruwala and another v. State of West Bengal, reported as 2025 Law Finder SC 4783, and directed the authorities to take appropriate action to deport the appellants after they had served their sentences.

The Court noted that the prosecution had established the appellants’ Bangladeshi nationality and their lack of valid travel documents, and that the conviction was not challenged in the appeal.

It held that the trial court had imposed the minimum imprisonment for the Foreigners Act offence and found no basis to interfere with the substantive sentences, including those imposed for the BNS offences.

It nevertheless reduced the default imprisonment for non-payment of fines to three days’ simple imprisonment for each offence.

Having regard to the Supreme Court observations cited, it also directed the authorities to arrange deportation following completion of the sentences.

The authorities were directed to take appropriate action to deport the appellants to Bangladesh within 30 days after they had undergone their sentences.