Thane court sentences two elderly Bangladeshi women for illegal stay

THANE: The Additional Sessions Court in Thane has convicted two Bangladeshi women, aged 58 and 60, for illegally entering and residing in India without valid documentation or permission from the relevant civil authorities. The court sentenced them to simple imprisonment for one year, three months, and 27 days under the Foreigners Act.

According to the prosecution, the women were arrested on 20 December 2023 during a routine check in the Indiranagar slum area of Bhayandar East, Thane. They were found to have entered the country without passing through official immigration channels and had been living in India without any valid papers or permission.

A case was registered at the Navghar Police Station in Mira Road, and an investigation was carried out following their arrest.

The prosecution submitted evidence showing that both women were from a village in the Khulna state of Bangladesh and had crossed the international border without the necessary authorisation, a violation of Indian immigration laws punishable under the Foreigners Act, which allows for imprisonment of up to five years.

During the court proceedings, the women were represented by Legal Aid Defence Counsel (LADC), which offers free legal support to those unable to afford representation. The defence entered a guilty plea and appealed to the court for leniency on humanitarian grounds.

The defence highlighted the women’s advanced age and the considerable time they had already spent in pre-trial detention—around one and a half years since their arrest. The court took these mitigating factors into account when determining the sentence.

In its judgment, the court ruled that the time the women had already spent in custody since December 2023 would be set off against their sentence, as per the applicable legal provisions.