SC stays HC order restricting arrests sans specific cases

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) has stayed a High Court (HC) order that barred authorities from showing individuals arrested or harassing them without specific cases.

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, passed the order on Wednesday after hearing separate petitions filed by the state challenging the High Court directive.

The Appellate Division also directed the High Court to dispose of the related rule within four weeks, according to the state.

The High Court had earlier issued the order while hearing separate writ petitions filed by individuals who challenged the legality of being shown arrested in cases where their names were not included in the first information reports (FIRs) even after securing bail.

In its order, the High Court had sought an explanation on why repeatedly involving individuals in false or harassment-driven cases should not be declared illegal.

It had also questioned why authorities should not be directed to refrain from showing anyone arrested or subjecting them to harassment without a specific case.

The state later filed leave-to-appeal petitions against the High Court’s order. After hearing the petitions, the Appellate Division stayed the order and disposed of the leave-to-appeal proceedings.

Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal and Deputy Attorney General Mohammad Mehedi Hasan represented the state during the hearing, while senior lawyer Mustafizur Rahman Khan and advocate AKM Fakhrul Islam appeared for the writ petitioners.

Later, at a briefing, Attorney General Kazal said the stay means that if an investigating officer finds a person’s involvement in a criminal case during an investigation, the officer can seek to show the person arrested even if the individual’s name was not included in the FIR.