Dhaka: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has requested a new passport and national identity card from Bangladesh's diplomatic mission in New Delhi, in what could be an important step towards her planned return to the country in December.
Hasina's lawyers from the London based legal firm Matrix Chambers sent a letter to Preeti Rahman, acting high commissioner at Bangladesh's embassy in New Delhi, requesting that the necessary documents be issued. The lawyers cited Hasina's Bangladeshi nationality and international human rights obligations in support of their request.
The request follows reports that her previous passport and national identity card were revoked by Bangladesh's former interim administration. However, there has been no confirmation that the diplomatic mission has accepted the application or agreed to issue new documents.
Hasina has been living in India since leaving Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, following weeks of student protests that brought an end to her government. She has previously expressed her intention to return to Bangladesh in December 2026 and face the legal proceedings against her.
Her latest move comes amid opposition from the Bangladeshi government, which wants India to extradite her under the existing bilateral agreement rather than facilitate her return through the passport process.
Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said on November 5 that the government would not issue a passport or travel document to Hasina to help her return. He maintained that Bangladesh wanted India to hand her over through the extradition process.
The government's position creates uncertainty over whether Hasina's passport application will be successful and whether she will be able to return as planned.
India has received Bangladesh's extradition request but has not announced a decision to hand her over. The Indian government has previously said that the request is being examined through the relevant legal and judicial processes.
Hasina's return also carries significant legal consequences. On November 17, 2025, Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal sentenced her to death in absentia for crimes against humanity linked to the violent suppression of the 2024 student uprising.
Former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was also sentenced to death in the same case. Former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun, who testified as a prosecution witness, received a five year prison sentence.
Hasina has denied wrongdoing and challenged the legitimacy of the proceedings. She has previously indicated that she is prepared to return and surrender before a court, despite the possibility of arrest.
The case stems from the deadly crackdown on student demonstrations in 2024. The protests initially began over government job quotas but developed into a nationwide movement against Hasina's administration.
According to a fact finding report released by the United Nations Human Rights Office in February 2025, as many as 1,400 people may have been killed between July 1 and August 15, 2024, during the protests and their aftermath. The report also documented widespread human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, torture and violence against protesters.
Hasina resigned and left Bangladesh for India on August 5, 2024, as demonstrators gathered in the capital, Dhaka. An interim administration led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus took office three days later.
Bangladesh has since undergone another major political transition. The country held general elections on February 12, 2026, in which the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Tarique Rahman, won a parliamentary majority. Rahman was sworn in as prime minister on February 17.
The Awami League, Hasina's political party, was barred from participating in the election and remains banned.
Hasina's proposed return therefore comes at a sensitive time for Bangladesh, where political divisions remain deep following the 2024 uprising and the subsequent legal proceedings.
Her request for new identity and travel documents is an important development, but it does not mean that her return has been approved or that India has agreed to facilitate her departure.
Whether Bangladesh's diplomatic mission will process the application and how the Indian and Bangladeshi governments will resolve the extradition dispute remain unanswered questions.
For now, Hasina's stated intention to return in December faces significant legal and diplomatic obstacles.