The Calcutta High Court has questioned the Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO), who is also the Superintendent of Police, Bilaspur, over the authority's move to determine the citizenship of four men from Murshidabad while their appeals against deletion of their names from the electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) are pending before the appellate tribunal.

Justice Krishna Rao raised the issue while hearing a petition filed by Mostakim Sheikh, a resident of Hiranandapur village in Murshidabad's Samserganj, seeking expeditious consideration of the appeals filed by the four men before the SIR appellate tribunal.

The four have been detained in Bilaspur for over a month on suspicion of being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

The petitioner's case is that the four men have challenged the deletion of their names from the electoral roll before the appellate tribunal constituted pursuant to the Supreme Court's directions.

During the hearing, Justice Rao questioned the authorities on how the FRO could simultaneously determine the nationality of the men when the tribunal was seized of their appeals.

“What is the duty of your authorities? What is the duty of the tribunal? If your authorities are simultaneously deciding it, then I will pass an order referring the matter to Supreme Court. The authority is deciding all the nationality... Why are you doing this?” the Court asked.

The Court termed the situation “contradictory” and questioned the effect of the pending appeal if the authorities were to decide the citizenship of the concerned persons simultaneously.

“If your authority is telling that he is not an Indian, so what will the appellate authority do? You are playing with people” Justice Rao observed.

The Court further questioned how the FRO could decide the citizenship of the detainees when the appellate tribunal was “actively hearing” their appeals.

“This is the way of administration of the Union of India in West Bengal. Once you find that the petitioner has preferred an appeal before the appellate tribunal, what would be the effect of the appeal if you are deciding the citizenship simultaneously,” the Court observed.

The High Court was informed that the four men had been detained by the FRO. However, the FRO had not been impleaded as a party to the proceedings.

The Court therefore directed the petitioner's counsel to implead the FRO and sought a report from the office regarding the detention. The matter has been directed to be listed on October 8.

Counsel for the petitioner submitted that all four men figured in the 2002 SIR electoral roll and had also exercised their franchise in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.

The petition was filed by Mostakim Sheikh, who stated that he was a resident of Hiranandapur village and a neighbour of the four detained men, seeking directions for expeditious hearing of their appeals before the SIR appellate tribunal.