The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday granted bail to a 37-year-old Christian Bangladeshi woman citing the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019.
Archona Prunima Pramanik is a Bangladeshi national and a Christian. She was arrested in November 2019 under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Foreigners Act after she was alleged to have entered India illegally. She had obtained Indian documents like PAN Card, Aadhaar Card and even a Indian passport, LiveLaw reported.
While granting bail, the High Court cited Section 2 of the amended Citizenship Act 1955, according to which minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014 should not be treated as illegal immigrants.
Archona claims to be staying in India since 2003. She was asked to furnish a bail bond for Rs 2 lakh and cooperate with the investigation against her, Times of India reported.
Archona was arrested based on a complaint by the assistant passport officer.
Earlier in April, Archona had applied for a visa to Bangladesh for herself and her son. During the journey, they were detained at the Kolkata airport and later released. However, the regional passport office issued a notice revoking Archona's passport and she was arrested in November.
Her bail petition was initially dismissed by a sessions court on December 4 2019. The CAA came into effect on January 10, 2020 after which, Archona was granted bail on Tuesday.
She is a native of Rajshahi district of Bangladesh and came to India to pursue a career in nursing. After obtaining a diploma in nursing from Ranchi, she worked at a number of hospitals. In 2010, she married Rajashekaran Krishnamurthy in Ranchi and has a son.