Calcutta HC questions citizenship proceedings against 4 detained Bengal muslims
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Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has questioned the decision of authorities in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, to examine the citizenship of four Muslim men from West Bengal while their appeals against deletion from the state’s electoral rolls are still pending.
The four men, Nasiruddin Sheikh, Laltu Sheikh, Safikul Islam and Sabir Sheikh, have been detained in Bilaspur for more than a month after the local foreign registration officer accused them of being undocumented Bangladeshi migrants.
The men were among 23 people detained in Bilaspur on September 4 over similar allegations. Nineteen were released on September 19 after officials verified their voter records, family details, local records and permanent residence documents.
The remaining four were not released after authorities pointed to the deletion of their names from West Bengal’s electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). They have challenged those deletions before the SIR appellate tribunal in West Bengal.
The issue reached the Calcutta High Court through a petition filed by Mostakim Sheikh, a resident of Samserganj in Murshidabad and a neighbour of the four detainees. He sought an early hearing of their appeals before the tribunal.
During Monday’s hearing, Justice Krishna Rao questioned the basis for Chhattisgarh authorities conducting a separate citizenship determination while the men’s electoral-roll appeals were yet to be decided in West Bengal. The court observed that such parallel proceedings could create conflicting outcomes.
The court was informed that the men were detained by the foreign registration officer, who had not initially been made a party to the proceedings. Justice Rao directed the petitioner to include the officer as a respondent and sought a report explaining the detentions. The matter will be heard again on Thursday.
Following the September detentions, the Chhattisgarh unit of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties alleged that the individuals had not been given show-cause notices.
The Centre had directed states and Union Territories in May 2025 to verify the credentials of people suspected of being undocumented migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The detentions come amid increased scrutiny of Bengali-speaking people, particularly Muslims, in several states since the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack. Rights groups have raised concerns over cases in which people were allegedly pushed into Bangladesh after being unable to immediately establish their Indian citizenship, including instances where authorities later confirmed their Indian nationality.
