Two Bangladeshi nationals must be deported within 30 days of completing their prison terms, Madras High Court rules

During a police patrol in Tiruppur on 5 December 2023, the appellants were apprehended and allegedly admitted, with the assistance of a Bengali-speaking contractor, that they were Bangladeshi nationals who had entered India without valid travel documents. Police also seized Aadhaar and PAN cards bearing addresses in Indian States

The trial court convicted them under Section 14A(b) of the Foreigners Act, 1946, and Sections 468 and 471 of the IPC, imposing, among other sentences, two years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of ₹10,000 each under the Foreigners Act

On appeal, the appellants challenged the proof of nationality and unlawful entry, the fairness of the proceedings and the proof of forgery; they also sought reduction or waiver of the fine and default sentence

Whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain the appellants’ convictions for entering India without valid travel documents under Section 14A(b) of the Foreigners Act, 1946

Whether the prosecution proved the offences of forgery and knowingly using forged documents as genuine under Sections 468 and 471 of the IPC

Whether the sentences should be modified in light of the appellants’ financial circumstances, and whether directions for deportation were warranted

Section 14A(b) of the Foreigners Act, 1946, was applied to the alleged entry into India without valid travel documents

Sections 468 and 471 of the IPC require proof of forgery and, for use of a forged document, its knowing use as genuine; the Court set aside those convictions where the prosecution had not verified the documents or otherwise proved forgery

The Court considered the Ministry of Home Affairs circular dated 23 November 2009, including paragraph 2(v), which provides for inquiry and verification in cases involving suspected Bangladeshi nationals and contemplates completion of the relevant exercise within 30 days

It also referred to Central Bureau of Investigation v. Narottam Dhakad, 2023 SCC OnLine SC 1069, on the constitutional significance of denial of an effective opportunity to defend; Maja Daruwala v. State of West Bengal, 2025 Law Finder SC 4783, concerning verification and deportation; and Shahejad Khan Mahebukhan Pathan v. State of Gujarat, (2013) 1 SCC 570, in considering the appellants’ ability to pay the fine

The Court found that the prosecution had established the appellants’ Bangladeshi nationality and entry without valid documents, and therefore upheld their convictions under Section 14A(b)

However, it held that the translator was not examined at trial, rendering the confession statements (Exs. P3 and P4) without legal value; the consequential recoveries were therefore inconsequential. The prosecution also failed to obtain verification reports for the Aadhaar and PAN cards or otherwise prove forgery or knowing use of forged documents, requiring the convictions under Sections 468 and 471 IPC to be set aside

Given the appellants’ poverty and inability to pay, the Court retained the fines but reduced the default sentence; it also relied on the cited circular and Maja Daruwala in directing deportation within the specified period

The fine of ₹10,000 each was maintained, but the default sentence was reduced to one week’s simple imprisonment.

The authorities were directed to deport the appellants to Bangladesh within 30 days after completion of the substantive imprisonment and any default sentence