Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Sunday asked the government to take effective measures to stop violence and sabotage in the name of hartal and blockade.
It also served a notice to the concerned authorities to explain as to why the continuous violence, anarchy and subversive activities during the hartal and blockade that caused immense sufferings to the people and loss of their properties would not be declared illegal and unconstitutional.
A two-member bench of the High Court, comprising Justice Quazi Reja-Ul Hoque and Justice Abu Taher Mohammad Saifur Rahman, passed the orders after hearing two separate writ petitions.
President of Keraniganj Ispahani School Managing Committee Saiful Azam Barku and a businessman of Keraniganj Shahinur Rahman filed the writ petitions.
Barrister M Amir-ul Islam, Yusuf Hossain Humayun, Abdul Baset Majumder, Abdul Matin Khasru, Sahara Khatun and Sanjida Khanam gave their submissions during the hearing.
The court said the state machinery must take effective actions against those who are obstructing holding of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations enforcing hartal and blockade.
Besides, it also issued a rule upon the government asking it to explain as to why the hartal and blockade that caused great loss to people, including children, should not be banned during the SSC examinations.
A total of 141 people were made the respondents in the rule, including Home Secretary, Law Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Inspector General of Police, Director General of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Director General of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), DMP Commissioner, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, Acting Secretary General of the party Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Bikalpa Dhara Chief Dr AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury. Later, Abdul Matin Khasru told the journalists that the High Court ordered the concerned authorities to ensure the smooth running of SSC examinations and take stern actions against those who are involved in creating hindrance to hold the examinations.
The court also wanted to know why the hartal victims would not be compensated by the individuals or parties who called hartal and blockade.
