Institute for Migrant Rights
Railway line at Cianjur station, c. 1890 · KITLV, CC BY 4.0

Migration Jurisprudence from the South › Bangladesh

Md. Sadaqat Khan (Fakku) v. Chief Election Commissioner

High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh · Bangladesh · 2008-05-18 · National court

Citation: Writ Petition 10129 of 2007
Type of case: Constitutional and human rights
Outcome: Decided for the migrant side

Question

Are Urdu-speaking “Biharis” living in camps citizens who can register to vote?

What the court decided

Yes. They are citizens of Bangladesh by law and must be registered on the voters’ list.

In plain language

Urdu-speaking people who stayed in Bangladesh after 1971 lived for decades in camps without recognition as citizens. The High Court said they are citizens and must be allowed to vote.

Dalam bahasa sederhana

Warga berbahasa Urdu yang tetap tinggal di Bangladesh setelah 1971 hidup puluhan tahun di kamp tanpa diakui sebagai warga negara. Pengadilan Tinggi menyatakan mereka warga negara dan berhak memilih.

Pertanyaan: Apakah warga “Bihari” berbahasa Urdu yang tinggal di kamp adalah warga negara yang boleh terdaftar sebagai pemilih?

What happened afterwards

  • 2008-05-18: Judgment.
  • 2008-12: Many camp residents vote in the general election. [Check.]

Sources

Open this decision in the interactive collection (compare, filter, Indonesian view, downloads).

Cite as: Institute for Migrant Rights (2026), Migration Jurisprudence from the South, version 0.1, https://theimr.org/court-decisions/d/bd-sadaqat-khan-2008/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.

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