Court proceedings to remain suspended amid virus shutdown

Court proceedings in Bangladesh will remain suspended after the Supreme Court reversed its decision to reopen the courts for limited work during the coronavirus lockdown.

The decision was announced in two notices issued by the Supreme Court on Saturday, reports bdnews24.com.

Earlier on Thursday, Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain took the decision to partially reopen courts following calls by lawyers who cited the people’s right to justice and frustration of justice-seekers as the lockdown continued for weeks.

The government started the lockdown on Mar 26 and extended it to May 5 amid a surge in virus cases and deaths.

According to the previous notices, Appellate Division Judge Md Nuruzzaman would hear important cases at the chamber judge’s court while Justice Obaidul Hasan would conduct proceedings at a High Court Division bench amid the holidays.

Meanwhile, the lower court judges would hear urgent bail petitions two days a week.

But due to unavoidable circumstances, the decision to conduct limited-scale court proceedings has been suspended at the request of various lawyers and the bar associations of Dhaka and Chittagong, according to the latest notices issued by Md Ali Akbar, registrar general of the Supreme Court.