Jul 14, 2026 10:19 AM IST 'Can citizenship depend on who's in power?': Karnataka HC hears plea of man held on suspicion of being Bangladeshi Karnataka High Court's Justice Suraj Govindaraj on Monday took strong exception to the West Bengal government seeking a further two weeks to review documents that had earlier certified Rafikul Biswas as an Indian citizen, after counsel for Biswas asked whether his citizenship could depend on "vagaries of who is in power in a particular state." Biswas, detained by Bengaluru police last September on suspicion of being a Bangladeshi national, suffered two heart attacks during his detention before being released on medical grounds in December; enquiries by West Bengal police and a Block Development Officer in October 2025 had found him to be an Indian citizen by birth.
The court noted Biswas has since been issued a fresh voter ID after clearing the SIR revision process, and posted the matter for July 23, saying no further adjournments would be granted.
