HC vacation bench sits at judge's house during hartal

Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Helal Uddin Mollah who moved for the state told The Daily Star that some 15 cases were heard at that time.

A bench officer (BO) of the HC informed him at around 11.00am that Justice Hashmat was ready to hear cases at his house if any party to any case felt that a hearing was urgent, added Helal.

The lawyers who went to the BO with cases were also informed of the judge's decision to conduct hearing at his house.

"I went to the judge's house at around 12 noon to take part in hearings for the state side," said the deputy of the chief law officer.

He said the proceedings began at 12.30pm and ended at 1.00pm and during this time, the court heard 10 to 15 cases including some regarding customs and transfer issues.

Helal said a judge could set up courts anywhere and anytime if they deem it necessary. So it was nothing unusual.

Usually, programmes like hartal and blockades hamper regular judicial process, as the judges cannot attend courts.

Now as the Supreme Court (SC) is on a vacation and hearings are taking place at the vacation benches of the HC division and Appellate Division of the SC.