The Calcutta High Court has questioned how a man could be identified as a Bangladeshi national and sent to a detention centre without first cancelling or examining the basis of his Aadhaar and PAN documents. The court also asked whether a person can be treated as a foreign national merely because he is unable to prove that he is the son of his deceased father.
The man, from North 24 Parganas, was arrested by police at Raninagar in Murshidabad on 8 August on suspicion of being a Bangladeshi national. He was sent to a detention centre on 10 August and had remained there for nearly two months, according to the report. The case was heard by Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya, who expressed dissatisfaction with the police action.
The court asked how the authorities had classified the man as Bangladeshi while his Aadhaar and PAN cards remained in force. It also questioned whether statements by family members could be considered in establishing a person’s citizenship and whether the authorities had examined the relevant documents and information before seeking deportation.
The state’s Additional Advocate General, Rajdeep Majumdar, told the court that several similar cases were being heard by another bench. He argued that if Aadhaar or PAN documents had been obtained using forged papers, that could become a basis for deportation.
The court responded that the country of citizenship must be established through proper consideration of relevant documents and information before a person is deported. It also said that no individual could be kept in detention without following the appropriate legal process.
During the hearing, the judge asked how many people had crossed the border into India during the 1970s and whether it would be possible to identify and return every such person. The court also questioned the practical feasibility of visiting border districts to establish the status of people living there.
The observations place the focus on the distinction between identity documents, citizenship determination and the legal authority to detain or deport a person. Possession of Aadhaar or PAN does not by itself settle citizenship, but the court made clear that those documents and the circumstances in which they were issued must be addressed before adverse action is taken.
The judge eventually released the matter from his bench and said it would be heard by the bench of Justice Krishna Rao. The report said the immediate dispute remained unresolved and that the case would proceed before that bench.
