Milestone judgment
Say legal experts
MUHAMMAD YEASIN
Terming the verdict as a milestone judgment, legal experts opined that the law enforcers could not arrest anyone under section 54 of the Criminal Procedure of Code (CrPC) before fulfilling some pre-conditions following the Supreme Court order. The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court released its full verdict issuing 10-point guidelines for the law enforcement agencies about detaining a person on suspicion and 9-point guidelines for the magistrates, judges and tribunals for dealing with an accused during the trial proceedings. The Supreme Court released the 396-page verdict copy after the judges concerned signed on it. The apex court in its short order said that it would give guideline for the law enforcers and the judges in the detailed verdict. Talking to The Independent Barrister Sara Hossain, who moved before the court on behalf of the petitioner Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), said it was a milestone judgment as the law enforcers could not do anything as per their will after arresting anyone under section 54 of the CrPC.
Following the verdict, the law enforcers have to inform the arrestee about the ground on which he has been arrested. The law enforcers have to show their identity card as per the will of arrestee, if he wants to see it, she added.
Criminal law expert Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan termed the verdict as a historic one.
This is a very progressive verdict. Now, the law enforcers could not do anything as per their will following the verdict as they have to maintain some important pre-conditions. They could not place the arrestees on remand after arresting them under the section 54 of the CrPC, Khan noted.
Advocate Manzill Murshid, president of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, said the law enforcers have to follow the apex court verdict before arresting anyone under the section.
It is mandatory for the law enforcers to follow these guidelines before arresting anyone under section 54 of the CrPC, Advocate Ahsanul Karim said.
Earlier, on May 24 this year, after hearing on an appeal filed by the government against the HC order, the four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha upheld the High Court order that had in 2003 in a verdict gave some instructions and recommendations on sections 54 and 167 of the Criminal Procedure of Code (CrPC), under which police can detain a person on suspicion without any charges and interrogate on remand.
After the verdict, renowned lawyer Dr Kamal Hossain expressed his satisfaction with the verdict and said, It seems we are finally entering the 21st century from the 19th century.
During the hearing on the appeal, the four-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha on May 17 this year observed that any arrest by law enforcers in plainclothes is alarming. It had said that law enforcers will have to be in uniform while arresting anyone. In 1998, assistant commissioner Akram Hossain of the Detective Branch (DB) of police arrested Shamim Reza, a student of Independent University, under Section 54 of the CrPC. The student died in police custody later. As the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust filed a writ petition before the HC in 2003, the court asked the government to take steps to amend the relevant sections of the CrPC. The court also gave 15 directives for amending it. In 2004, the then Four-Party Alliance government filed an appeal against the HC verdict.
