The Supreme Court of India has requested responses from eight states regarding a petition filed by the West Bengal Migrant Workers Welfare Board, which alleges the unauthorized detention of Bengali-speaking Muslim migrant workers. The petition claims that these workers are being detained on mere suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals. The states from which the Supreme Court has sought responses include Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, and Delhi.
The West Bengal Migrant Workers Welfare Board, represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, has accused police in these states of arbitrarily detaining migrant laborers from West Bengal. They allege that some workers were even deported despite possessing sufficient documentation to prove their Indian nationality. Bhushan clarified that the board does not object to inquiries aimed at establishing the nationality of Bengali-speaking Muslims, but maintains that detention should only be applied to non-Indian citizens.
Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, presiding over the bench, have stated that the court will consider the states' responses before issuing any interim orders regarding the detentions. The matter is scheduled to be heard again within a fortnight. The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution. The PIL challenges the legality of the detentions in light of a letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) dated May 2, 2025, which authorized inter-state verification and detention of suspected illegal immigrants, prior to Operation Sindoor.
The West Bengal Migrant Workers Welfare Board argues that workers from West Bengal, who are primarily employed in low-income, informal sectors in these states, experience systemic exclusion due to linguistic and economic factors. The petition further alleges that these detentions, carried out without adherence to lawful procedures, violate Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution, erode dignity, and impede the right to livelihood. The plea also states that the detaining states repeatedly fail to follow due process for identifying citizenship, lacking proper verification of identity, coordination with police or families in West Bengal, and an institutional framework for verification before detaining individuals.
During the hearing, Bhushan contended that the Foreigners Act does not authorize detention merely on suspicion of citizenship, and that the current practice is creating "panic" nationwide. He also stated that some deported individuals were brought back after verification, highlighting the arbitrary enforcement of the MHA order. Justice Kant suggested the need for a nodal agency to coordinate between the worker's state of origin and the state of employment to prevent harassment of genuine citizens. The bench acknowledged the right of states where migrant workers are employed to inquire about their bonafide status from their state of origin. However, the bench also expressed concerns about the consequences of interim orders, particularly for individuals who have entered the country illegally and may need to be deported.
