The Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) filed the writ petition in 2013 after reports were published in various media outlets about people being arrested and harassed through fake arrest warrants.
Members of Bangladesh Police. Representational image: Collected
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Members of Bangladesh Police. Representational image: Collected
The High Court today (14 September) directed police not to arrest or harass anyone without properly verifying the arrest warrant through the police’s Central Data Management System.
The court also directed authorities to verify the identities of plaintiffs and lawyers when filing cases.
The High Court bench of Justice KM Hafizul Alam and Justice Murad-e-Mawla Sohel issued the directives while disposing of a rule issued in response to a writ petition.
Senior Advocate Manzil Morshed appeared for the writ petitioner, while Deputy Attorney General JR Khan Robin represented the state.
The Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) filed the writ petition in 2013 after reports were published in various media outlets about people being arrested and harassed through fake arrest warrants.
Following a hearing on the petition, another High Court bench issued the ruling on 30 January 2013.
After the verdict, lawyer Manzil Morshed told journalists that the court directed police officers to verify the authenticity of any arrest warrant through the Central Data Management System before taking steps to arrest anyone.
The court also directed the Inspector General of Police to issue a circular mentioning the court’s directives and send it to all law enforcement agencies.
In another order, the court directed the Registrar General of the Supreme Court to send instructions to all lower court judges, including district judges, metropolitan judges, chief judicial magistrates and chief metropolitan magistrates.
The instructions require the identity of plaintiffs and lawyers to be verified when filing any complaint case. A copy of the plaintiff’s National Identity Card and the lawyer’s professional card must be attached to the case documents for this purpose.
The court said any arrest must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Otherwise, it would constitute a violation of the law.
It also said arrests through fake warrants violate a citizen’s fundamental and constitutional rights, and ensuring these rights is the responsibility of all law enforcement agencies.
The court further observed that caution is essential when filing cases and making arrests to prevent people from being harassed through the courts. Otherwise, the damage caused to citizens cannot be compensated.
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