A court in Pune has delivered its verdict in a case concerning illegal immigration, convicting seven women from Bangladesh for entering and residing in India without valid documents. The court has also ordered their deportation back to their home country.
The Arrest and Investigation
The case came to light when a team from the social security cell of the Pune police crime branch conducted a raid on October 9, 2023. The operation targeted an establishment associated with commercial sex workers in the city's Budhwar Peth area. During the raid, the seven women were apprehended.
Investigations revealed that the women had been living at the location for approximately four years. When questioned by authorities, they failed to produce any passports, visas, or other documents that could legally establish their right to be in India. This lack of documentation immediately raised suspicions about their nationality and immigration status.
Court Proceedings and Legal Arguments
Following their arrest, the women were sent to judicial custody on October 10, 2023. A formal chargesheet in the case was filed in December of the same year. The case was prosecuted by Public Prosecutor Pramod Hajare, who presented the evidence before the court of Additional Sessions Judge U.P. Kulkarni.
During the trial, the women admitted to having entered India from Bangladesh through unofficial, illegal channels. Their stated motivation was to escape poverty and search for livelihood opportunities. Despite their circumstances, the legal process focused on the violation of immigration laws.
The Court's Rationale and Judgment
In his ruling on November 29, Judge Kulkarni invoked Section 9 of the Foreigners Act. He emphasized that this law places the burden of proof on the individuals accused of being foreigners to demonstrate otherwise. "Had the accused entered and stayed in India with a passport, permit or any valid document, they should have produced it and proved the same," the judge observed.
When determining the sentence, the court considered several factors. It noted that the prosecution had not provided any evidence of prior convictions against the women. Acknowledging that poverty drove their decision to come to India, the judge stated that since it was conclusively proven they were Bangladeshi nationals, deportation was the necessary course of action.
The Final Sentence and Deportation Order
Judge Kulkarni also addressed the time the accused had already spent in detention since their arrest. The court decided to convert their period of two years and two months in jail into the sentence. This was done by granting them the benefit of set-off under Section 428 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows time spent in detention during trial to be counted as part of the final sentence.
With the sentence effectively served through their detention, the primary directive of the court now is their deportation to Bangladesh. The judgment underscores the legal consequences of illegal entry and stay, while also considering the individual circumstances of the accused within the framework of the law.
