BORDER detentions and forcible expulsions, commonly referred to as “pushbacks,” are not isolated incidents but form part of a systematic pattern across Eastern India. Reports from Assam, West Bengal, and adjoining border districts document pushbacks occurring at multiple crossing points, including Barpeta, Karimganj, Cooch Behar, Malda, Nadia, and Dhubri.
These border areas have long-standing demographic, linguistic and familial ties with communities across the border in Bangladesh. The populations targeted for expulsion are overwhelmingly drawn from poor, Bengali-speaking Muslim and Adivasi communities who face structural disadvantages, limited access to legal representation, and low levels of documentary literacy.
A critical legal anomaly compounds the problem with the Border Security Force (BSF), the primary agency conducting these pushbacks, has no statutory authority to determine citizenship or nationality status. Under Indian law, citizenship determination falls exclusively within the jurisdiction of civil authorities, Foreigners Tribunals, and appellate bodies established under the Foreigners Act, 1946. The absence of due process, judicial oversight, and nationality verification prior to expulsion transforms what should be a legal determination into an arbitrary executive action by a border force operating outside its lawful mandate.
Recent reporting by The Indian Express in January 2026 documented additional cases in which families from Odisha and West Bengal were subjected to summary expulsion despite possessing land records and multiple forms of citizenship-linked documentation. In several instances, Bangladeshi authorities declined to accept the expelled individuals, citing lack of verification or mismatched paperwork, leaving them stranded across the border. These cases illuminate the complex cross-border family networks that characterize the region, the administrative uncertainty surrounding expulsions and the severe humanitarian consequences of a pushback regime operating without procedural safeguards.
Forcible expulsion of a pregnant woman
In September 2025, Scroll.in reported the case of a pregnant woman from West Bengal who was forcibly taken across the border into Bangladesh by BSF personnel on suspicion that she was an “illegal Bangladeshi migrant.” Her family, who had lived in the region for at least five generations and possessed land records, ration cards, Aadhaar cards, and other documentation establishing Indian citizenship, stated that she had never resided in Bangladesh.
According to eyewitness accounts, BSF personnel entered the village, detained the woman without a warrant, and transported her, along with several others, across the international border in a truck. She was not presented before a magistrate, not informed of any grounds for arrest, and not given an opportunity to challenge the expulsion. Her family only discovered her whereabouts after relatives in Bangladesh located her; they were told by local authorities there that she had been “pushed back” by India.
The incident reflects a disturbing pattern in West Bengal and Assam border districts, where Indian citizens, often from poor, Muslim, Bengali-speaking or Adivasi communities, are labelled as “Bangladeshi infiltrators” and summarily expelled without due process. The woman's pregnancy underscores both the gravity and inhumanity of such expulsions, which not only violate fundamental rights but render individuals effectively stateless, separated from their families and deprived of any legal recourse.
Systemic pattern of arbitrary detention and expulsion
Reports from Assam reveal a broader pattern in which individuals, many of whom hold documentary proof of Indian citizenship or have received favourable orders from Foreigners Tribunals, are detained arbitrarily and expelled across the border without legal process.
In the Karbi Anglong district, police detained a 45-year-old man at night without providing grounds for his arrest. Although a Foreigners Tribunal had ruled in his favour in January 2024, a new ex parte order declaring him an irregular immigrant was issued without notice in April. His family was unable to ascertain his whereabouts and ultimately petitioned the Guwahati High Court.
In Barpeta district, a 67-year-old woman, Maleka Khatun, who had spent nearly six years in detention before being released on bail, was forcibly pushed into Bangladesh around 3:00 a.m. by BSF personnel despite her advanced age, impaired mobility and ongoing legal proceedings. She later managed to contact her family from a village in Kurigram district of northern Bangladesh after borrowing a phone. In the same district, authorities detained a 44-year-old man and expelled him to Bangladesh within 24 hours. His family later received a call from him after he had walked for three days to find shelter.
In both the latter cases, the individuals were the only members of their families declared irregular immigrants and both had appeals pending before the High Court.
Legal practitioners in Assam have confirmed that such expulsions bypass established procedures for nationality verification and deportation. Deportation requires confirmation of nationality from the receiving state; instead, as one lawyer noted, “they are picking people up and there is no information about their whereabouts.” A complaint filed with the National Human Rights Commission regarding these expulsions has reportedly not received a response.
Legal violations under Indian constitutional law
These incidents raise serious constitutional and legal violations under Indian law and international human rights standards. Forcible expulsion without lawful authority constitutes a direct infringement of Article 21 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that deprivation of liberty must follow “procedure established by law,” which includes transparency, non-arbitrariness, and judicial oversight as established in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978). None of these safeguards were observed in the documented cases.
The individuals were neither arrested under a lawful provision nor informed of any grounds justifying their detention or expulsion. Their removal across an international border, without any legal process, amounts to an unconstitutional deprivation of liberty.
Article 22(1) and (2) provide that any person arrested must be informed of the grounds of arrest, and produced before a magistrate within 24 hours. Border expulsions of this nature routinely bypass judicial scrutiny altogether. BSF personnel do not possess the authority to determine citizenship or nationality; these determinations fall within the jurisdiction of civil authorities and tribunals constituted under the Foreigners Act, 1946. Expelling a person without even initiating such proceedings is unlawful.
In the documented cases, the victims' families held multiple generations of land records and official identity documents. Under the Citizenship Act, 1955, these constitute prima facie evidence of Indian citizenship. The BSF has no statutory power to unilaterally declare an individual a foreigner or to remove them from Indian territory.
Such expulsions bypass every legal forum designed to adjudicate citizenship disputes: civil courts, Foreigners Tribunals, and appellate procedures. The State's actions therefore amount to an executive usurpation of judicial authority.
The cases documented above demonstrate a systematic absence of due process. Individuals are detained without warrants, not informed of the grounds for detention, not produced before magistrates, and expelled across international borders without any opportunity to challenge the action. This complete circumvention of legal procedure renders the expulsions arbitrary and unconstitutional.
Violations of international human rights law
Although India entered a reservation to Article 9(5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), it remains bound by Article 9(1)-(4). The individuals documented in these cases were arbitrarily detained, deprived of their liberty, denied judicial review of their detention, and subjected to a procedure devoid of legal basis.
Even with India's reservation, the complete absence of procedure places these incidents squarely within the category of prohibited arbitrary detention and expulsion under international law.
Indian authorities claim they are expelling people who entered India illegally from Bangladesh. While dozens of expelled individuals have indicated that they are Bangladeshi nationals, many others have insisted they are Indian citizens. The lack of due process has meant that Indian nationals, predominantly Bengali-speaking Muslims, have been unlawfully expelled.
Bangladeshi authorities have repeatedly stated that the Indian government's unilateral actions violate established repatriation procedures. They have urged Indian authorities to follow transparent, verifiable processes to address these cases in line with international standards.
This is Part 1 of a five-part series. Part 2 will examine collective expulsion and non-refoulement principles.
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