NEW DELHI: After ascertaining repatriation of a pregnant Sunali Khatun along with her eight-year-old son to India, Supreme Court on Friday asked the Union government to consider on humanitarian grounds the pleas for bringing back four others, including her husband, who were deported to Bangladesh in June this year.A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi was informed by West Bengal’s counsel Kapil Sibal and counsel Sanjay Hegde, who appeared for Sunali’s father Bhodu Sekh, that she is back in India and residing with her father. When the bench asked whether adequate healthcare facilities are being extended to her, the state govt said it is providing her with required medical facilities given her advanced stage of pregnancy.Both Sibal & Hegde requested the court & solicitor general Tushar Mehta to consider bringing back the four others, who were deported along with Sunali to Bangladesh, and claimed that they have every document to prove that they were Indian citizens.Mehta said the government will need time to verify documents. The bench said, “If govt thinks on humanitarian grounds they can be brought back, it can do so. That will be without prejudice to govt’s legal arguments in the case.”The SG drew attention to a report on Friday on Sunali and said publication of such reports was meant to create a narrative, which amounts to influencing public opinion. The CJI-led bench said criticizing orders of the court & publishing court proceedings in a case is perfectly fine, but attempting to peddle a narrative through a newspaper publication timed to the date of hearing is avoidable.“There should be no running commentary when a matter is sub-judice. Healthy criticism of a judgment is welcome. But publishing opinions on a sub-judice matter… the author and publisher need to be responsible. We judges are totally immune to what is published in newspapers which we go through only in the evening,” the CJI said.Sibal said, “Globally, comments are made on sub-judice matters in newspapers. It is not a sacrilege if motive is not attributed to the judge.” The CJI said, “Problem arises when distorted and half-baked truth is published. It creates a misapprehension in the minds of people.” Hegde said, “We need to develop thick skin for all these things.” The bench posted the matter for further hearing on Jan 6, when it would consider the plea for repatriation of the other four.
