The High Court has stayed a government order to remove tinted glasses from vehicles for two weeks. The bench of Justices Mirza Hussain Haider and Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar issued the order on Wednesday after hearing a petition. Lawyers Asaduzzaman Siddui and Eklas Uddin Bhuiyan filed the petition on May 14 challenging the legality of the government order. Advocate Manzil Murshid stood for the petitioners while Attorney General Mahbubey Alam represented the state. He was assisted by Deputy Attorney General Al Amin Sarkar. The court said black or tinted glasses cannot be used after the stay order expired. However, the glasses can be used on private cars on specific approval of the home ministry or the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority. “Anybody can apply explaining the necessity for using black glasses; the relevant authorities will have to resolve it within one week,” said the rule. The court also issued a rule wanting to know why the order of removing black or tinted glasses should not be declared illegal. The secretary and deputy secretary of the home ministry , inspector general of police, commissioner and joint commissioner (traffic) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police have been asked to reply to the rule within four weeks. On Apr 30, the home ministry banned the use of black or tinted glasses on microbuses in view of a recent rise in abductions in which those vehicles were used. The order said tinted, black or coloured glasses would not be allowed on the windshields and side windows or rear windows of any microbus from May 10. Manzil Murshid said if tinted glasses on microbuses were banned as those vehicles were used for abductions, the government should also ban the use of ropes, because these were also used in abductions and murders. He contended that the authorities do not have the jurisdiction to take such a decision under the existing law. After the decision, it was said that the ban would not be applicable on vehicles having built-in coloured glasses, he said. Such discrimination violated the principle of legality though the decision was legal, Murshid said.
