The milestone verdict
The verdict
has undoubtedly clipped the blanket power of police and very positively safeguarded the fundamental rights
of citizens
A historical judgement came with the Supreme Court upholding the verdict of the High Court that in 2003 made some very pertinent observations regarding arrest, detention in custody, remand and interrogation. It declared that the police cannot arrest any person under Section 54 for detention; while arresting a person police must show their identity cards; and within three hours of arrest, police must inform the arrestee why s/he has been arrested.
The verdict has also, among others, some very salutary points: the arrested person, if necessary, can be taken on remand with the condition that the process of interrogation will be done in a chamber made of glass so that the arrested persons lawyer and relatives can see it from the other side; and before and after taking remand, the arrested persons health check-up has to be conducted by a doctor mandatorily.
The verdict has undoubtedly clipped the blanket power of police and very positively safeguarded the fundamental rights of citizens. Following this landmark verdict, the government has to bring amendments to some provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure and it is expected that the government would expedite the process soon once the full verdict of the court arrives.
It took however long 18 years to get this final judgment from the apex court of the land because both 4-party government led by BNP and 14-party alliance government led by Awami League took stand against it. This is one of the very sad aspects of this legal procedure. When outside power, political parties talk volume about the fundamental rights of citizens but when in power they try all means to curb those rights. The parties must now learn to become people-friendly when in the government also. People give them mandate to establish the rule of law, not to govern them by the rule of law.
It all happened when in 1998 police arrested an Independent University student Shamim Reza Rubel who had been arrested under Section 54 but died in police custody. At that time a judicial inquiry committee led by Justice Habibur Rahman conducted an investigation and offered some recommendations. As these recommendations did not work, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) filed a writ petition before High Court which gave the verdict.
It is good to know that after the Appellate Division dismissed the appeal by the state, the Law Minister Anisul Haque and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal both now expressed that the government would take measures for amendments after getting the full verdict from the court. It is our expectation that all will follow smoothly from now on without any hindrance.
