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The High Court has imposed a three-month suspension on a Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) directive that required prior approval from senior officials before arresting suspects in cases linked to the Anti-discrimination Student Movement.
It also issued a rule asking why the order should not be deemed “illegal”.
The bench of Justice Fatema Najib and Justice Sikder Mahmudur Razi issued the order on Wednesday after a preliminary hearing on a public interest writ petition.
Advocate Ruhul Quddus Kazal represented the petitioner at the hearing.
Supreme Court Advocate Md Jashimuddin filed the petition on Sunday, seeking the suspension of the office order from the Police Headquarters and a rule on the matter.
The home secretary, inspector general of police, DMP commissioner, Detective Branch chief, Criminal Investigation Department chief, and Special Branch chief have been named as respondents.
The office order signed by DMP Joint Commissioner Faruk Hossain on April 10 said, “In most cases filed in connection with the Anti-discrimination Movement, the number of suspects is high. In order to arrest the accused in these cases or those found in the investigation, the permission of the higher authorities must be obtained along with appropriate evidence (testimonies of victims and witnesses, video, audio, still images related to the incident, and mobile call lists or call detail records, etc).”
Lawyer Jashimuddin said that day: “This order is a violation of the Supreme Court’s verdict and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The Supreme Court has declared a provision that requires prior permission to arrest government employees unconstitutional. In the face of that verdict, such an order issued by Police Headquarters is illegal.”
He added, "If a person is found innocent after a criminal case is filed, then there is a provision in the CrPC to exempt him from the charges. But such an order has been made bypassing the existing law, which there is no scope for doing."