Ashutosh Sarkar

The High Court has observed that a handful of corrupt police officials became errant and their higher authorities have miserably failed to hold them accountable, for which the higher police authorities cannot absolve responsibility.

Referring to Ekattor TV allowing Proshanta Kumar Halder to participate in a live talk show and interview, the High Court has observed that no one accused or convicted of non-bailable, cognisable offences is entitled to any comment or interview through the media.

The High Court has observed that a section of Bangladesh Bank officials, tasked with monitoring the activities of banks and financial institutions, have been harbouring financial thugs for personal gains.

The High Court has directed the inspector general of police to take steps necessary to train officers to complete investigating cases filed under the Digital Security Act in 75 days.

Fatiha Maskura, now 45, has been in the condemned cell of a jail since June 6, 2016, after a Sylhet court sentenced her to death for killing her husband Ibrahim Abu Khalil Al Hafiz. Ibharhim was killed on May 18, 2015, following a family dispute, according to the case statement.

After so many years, people are still waiting to see justice for the crimes committed during the Liberation War, as appeal hearings of 27 war-crime cases were halted for years at the Supreme Court (SC).

The High Court is expected to start soon the hearing on the death references and appeals against the verdict of the August 21 grenade attack cases, as the paper books have already been prepared and appeals accepted for hearing.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has ruled that life imprisonment means a convict will remain behind bars for 30 years and will get remission and deduction benefits under relevant laws if it is not specifically mentioned in the verdict that the convict is sentenced to imprisonment until natural death.

Nine years have passed after two separate appeals were filed with the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division challenging the High Court verdict that declared the Chattogram Hill Tracts Regional Council illegal and unconstitutional.

The High Court is yet to dispose of an 11-year-old writ petition that challenged the legality of empowering administrative officials to perform judicial functions.

Eight months have passed since a judicial probe committee submitted an inquiry report to the High Court over the “partial negligence” of Dhaka city corporations regarding last year’s dengue outbreak in the capital.

It has been 45 years since, on this very day in 1975, four national leaders were assassinated at the Dhaka Central Jail.

Over three years ago, the High Court directed the administration of the Supreme Court to form a cell to monitor whether the trials of cases filed under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000 are completed in 180 days.

Sikder Group Managing Director Ron Haque Sikder and his brother Dipu Haque Sikder are yet to comply with the July 20 High Court directive that asked them to give 5,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) each as fine to the Prime Minister’s Relief and Welfare Fund.

Three days after the appointment of senior lawyer AM Amin Uddin as the new attorney general for the state, two additional attorney generals -- Murad Reza and Momtaz Uddin Fakir -- yesterday resigned without citing any specific reasons.

The Supreme Court’s Appellate Division is yet to settle whether executive magistrates can operate mobile courts legally, although the issue has been pending with it for over three years.

The High Court could not issue any directive, guideline or observation on extrajudicial killings in law enforcers’ custody as no final hearings were held on two separate petitions and three rules over the last 14 years.

Justice is yet to be delivered for the mindless communal attacks on the Buddhist community in Cox’s Bazar’s Ramu upazila in 2012 although three separate probe reports identifying the attackers and inaction of nonchalant local officials were placed before the High Court seven years ago.

Although the paper books of sensational August 21 grenade attack, Holey Artisan Bakery attack and Feni madrasa student Nusrat Jahan Rafi murder cases have already been prepared, the High Court is yet to start hearing on their death references and appeals for different reasons, delaying justice.

Although the government enacted a law to prevent torture and death in custody of different law enforcement agencies seven years ago, not many cases have been filed under the act.