The Tripura High Court has modified the sentences of four Bangladeshi nationals convicted in separate cases of illegal entry into India and directed the state authorities to push them back to Bangladesh after the Tripura government said it had no objection to their repatriation.
A single bench headed by Justice Dr T Amarnath Goud passed the orders on Monday while disposing of three criminal appeals.
In Crl. A(J) 48 of 2026, the court dealt with an appeal filed by Ratilal Das and his wife Binita Rani Das, residents of Gowainagar in Moulabi Bazar district of Bangladesh. They had challenged their conviction and sentence passed by the Sessions Judge, Unakoti, Kailashahar, on November 1, 2025, in S.T. (Type-2) 17 of 2025.
According to the prosecution case, a BSF patrol party apprehended 16 people, including 13 Bangladeshi nationals and three Indian nationals suspected to be touts, near Srirampur Manu Bridge on February 27, 2025. The two appellants allegedly admitted to being Bangladeshi nationals and entering India without valid passports or other documents.
The Sessions Court convicted them under Section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, read with Rule 6 of the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950, and Section 14A(b) of the Foreigners Act, 1946. They were sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000 each under the Foreigners Act, besides a fine of Rs 5,000 each under the Passport Act.
Their counsel submitted that the appellants had remained in custody since their arrest, had not misrepresented their identities and had pleaded guilty. She sought reduction of their sentences or their repatriation to Bangladesh.
In the other two appeals, Crl. A(J) 49 and 50 of 2026, the appellants were Lija and Mansura Aktar, respectively. Both are Bangladeshi nationals.
Lija and Aktar had been convicted by the Sessions Judge, Dhalai, Ambassa, on June 4, 2025, in S.T. (Type-II) 01 of 2025. They were convicted under Section 336(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 3(3) of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920.
The trial court had sentenced each of them to five years of simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 under Section 336(3) of the BNS and two years of simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 under the Passport Act.
According to the prosecution case, Lija and another woman were detained during checking at Ambassa railway station on October 6, 2024, after they allegedly failed to provide satisfactory answers regarding their presence there. During questioning, they allegedly disclosed that they were Bangladeshi nationals and had entered India without valid passports or visas.
Both appellants pleaded guilty before the trial court.
During the appeals, their counsel sought reduction of the sentences to the periods already undergone or their repatriation to Bangladesh. Public Prosecutor Raju Datta opposed the plea for reduction, submitting that the appellants had illegally entered Indian territory and remained in custody since their arrest.
The High Court sought the state's position on deportation. The Public Prosecutor produced a September 17 communication from the Tripura Home Department stating that the government had no objection if the convicted persons were pushed back to Bangladesh instead of being kept in jail to serve their sentences.
The court noted that there were no antecedents against the appellants and, considering the state's position on their deportation, held that a lenient view could be taken as the offences were their primary offences.
The High Court modified all three sentences to the periods of custody already undergone and waived the remaining periods of imprisonment. It directed the state authorities to take necessary steps to push the three appellants back to Bangladesh as per procedure.
Until their repatriation, they will remain in jail custody but will not be treated as convicts, the court ordered.