The Calcutta High Court has directed the West Bengal government to hand over all land purchased using central funds for Indo-Bangladesh border fencing to the Border Security Force (BSF) by March 31, 2026, in a decisive move aimed at ending long-standing delays in securing India’s eastern frontier.
The order was passed by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) highlighting serious security concerns arising from large unfenced stretches of the Indo-Bangladesh Border (IBB) in West Bengal. The state accounts for the longest portion of the international border with Bangladesh, 2,216.70 km, spanning nine districts.
The PIL flagged a sharp rise in cross-border crimes, including infiltration, narcotics trafficking and other illegal activities, and pointed to administrative delays in handing over land despite compensation having been paid. Data placed before the court, drawn from unstarred questions in the Rajya Sabha, showed a noticeable increase in infiltration-related arrests in recent years, including 2023, 2024 and up to July 2025.
The petition, filed by a former Deputy Chief of Army Staff, sought urgent judicial intervention to address what it termed serious lapses in border management. The court clarified that the PIL was not adversarial in nature but intended to draw attention to inaction in a matter directly linked to national security and territorial integrity.
During the hearing, the Central Government, represented by the Additional Solicitor General, stressed that timely land acquisition and handover were critical to completing fencing work and curbing threats such as terrorism and infiltration. The Centre invoked Articles 256 and 257 of the Constitution to underline the state’s obligation to cooperate on matters of national importance.
Taking note that a substantial portion of the land had already been acquired or purchased by the state government using funds provided by the Centre, and that compensation had been disbursed, the court directed the West Bengal government to hand over all such land, classified as the first category to the BSF by the stipulated deadline.
The ruling has been seen as a setback to the Trinamool Congress government, which the BJP has long accused of delaying land handover and obstructing border fencing work. The issue has been a major political plank for the BJP in West Bengal, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah repeatedly raising concerns over border security during his visits to the state.
Reacting to the court’s order, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said the ruling had put an end to what he described as deliberate stalling by the Mamata Banerjee government. “The court has stepped in and fixed clear timelines. Political obstruction cannot override national security. No more excuses,” Malviya wrote in a post on X.
However, the Trinamool Congress pushed back against the BJP’s claims. Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said the BJP must explain why fencing work had not commenced in areas where land had already been handed over and questioned why infiltration continued despite existing arrangements.
