City Desk :
The state on Monday admitted to the High Court that it was wrong to tie a rope around the waist of 17-year-old student Hasanatul Islam Faiaz, arrested during the quota reform movement.
Additional Attorney General Sheikh Md Morshed said this on behalf of the state.
The hearing on this matter was scheduled to be held at 1:30pm.
Lawyer Shahdeen Malik earlier in the day filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the decision to take Faiaz on remand, tying him up with a rope and loading him into a police van violating the law.
Faiaz was made the 16th accused out of 17 in the murder of a policeman near Matuail Hospital during the recent quota reform movement.
On Saturday, Faiaz was produced in a lower court in the capital and placed on seven days’ remand in the case.
On Sunday, a court cancelled the remand order for Faiaz. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court judge Tahmina Haque passed the order following an appeal.
The case statement says Faiaz is 19 years old.
However, according to his birth registration, Faiaz is a little over 17, as he was born on April 19, 2007.
Earlier, A petition, filed by Lawyer Dr Shahdeen Malik, challenging the legality of Fayaz’s detention and the police’s actions, including restraining him and placing him in a police van, led to the court’s intervention. The bench of Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarker and Justice SM Moniruzzaman expressed their displeasure after hearing the issue.
Representing the state, Additional Attorney General Sheikh Mohammad Morshed assured the court that Fayaz would not be remanded and that his family could file for bail.
The court remarked: “We saw on TV that his father provided all documents proving the boy’s age as 17. Yet, the magistrate did not take this into account! Is it necessary to persist in wrongdoing to justify these actions? This should not be the case.
“While there has been significant acts of violence, isolated incidents like this could discredit the entire issue. Such judicial misconduct could also undermine the credibility of the judiciary,” the court added.
At one point, the court asked the state lawyer: “What would you do if this were your child? Immediate action should be taken. We are not be issuing an order today (Sunday); the matter will be scheduled for a hearing on Monday.”
Following the court’s instructions, Dr Shahdeen Malik said: “We have seen photographs in various newspapers showing a child being restrained and placed in a police van. We brought this to the judges’ attention this morning.
“The court advised us to file a petition. Under the Child Act of 2013, there are clear guidelines stating that if someone needs to be arrested, the police must verify that they are over 18.