Image used for representational purposes. File | Photo credit: Getty Images/iStock
The Calcutta High Court has ordered the immediate release and repatriation of a Bangladeshi prisoner who was a minor when he was detained for illegally entering India and has been languishing in jail for the past 21 years.
Noting that the maximum sentence that can be imposed on a juvenile under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act is seven years, a bench presided over by Justice Rajasekhar Mantha on Thursday (March 5, 2026) ordered the immediate release of the man, now 36 years old.
He has been in custody for more than 21 years since his arrest in February 2005.
Further to the inquiry conducted in the juvenile case of the petitioner, the Additional District and Sessions Judge Basirhat of North 24 Parganas District submitted the report before the Division Bench.
He stated that the ossification test conducted on the petitioner determined his present age to be 36 years.
A Division Bench, also comprising Justice Rai Chattopadhyay, said that on the basis of the report, the petitioner was a minor as on February 8, 2005, when he was arrested.
The Court ordered the State to seek the applicant’s repatriation back to his country of origin, Bangladesh.
In a separate order on Thursday (March 5, 2026), the division bench also ordered the release of another man, who was a juvenile when arrested 14 years ago, on similar grounds.
After receiving the report of the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court, Rampurhat in Birbhum District, the Divisional Judge observed that the trial Judge had come to the conclusion that the petitioner was 15 years and 9 days old on 27 February 2011, the date and time of the offense for which he was arrested.
The bench noted that since the juvenile cannot be sentenced for more than seven years and the convict is in custody for more than 14 years, he will be set free.
Published – March 7, 2026 12:59 PM IST
