TDS Desk:

The High Court said it is ashamed of the violence and deaths during the quota reform protests, adding that “none of us are doing our constitutional duty”

The High Court Tuesday (30 July) said keeping the six quota protesters under the custody of the Detective Branch (DB) of police was unlawful.

“They did not seek safety. Keeping them under custody like this is unlawful. They should be either released or produced before the court as arrested,” said the HC bench headed by Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam during a hearing on a writ petition seeking directives for law enforcement agencies not to shoot at quota reform protesters during their programmes and the release of six quota reform leaders currently under DB custody

During the hearing today, the HC bench said it was ashamed of the violence and deaths during the quota reform protests, adding that “none of us are doing our constitutional duty”.

“What the police will do is clearly stated in the Code of Criminal Procedure [CRPC]. But none of us are doing our constitutional duty. We are ashamed of the violence and deaths of people during the anti-quota movement,” the bench said.

The hearing concluded on Tueday, and the court set tomorrow as the next date for the hearing.

Supreme Court Lawyers Ainun Nahar Siddiqa and Manjur Al Matin filed the petition on July 29, keeping the cabinet secretary, secretary of the home ministry, inspector general of police and others concerned as respondents to the petition.

A hearing on the petition took place on July 29 in front of the HC bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice SM Masud Hossain Dolon.

Then, the HC expressed its indignation over the release of a video showing six coordinators of the quota reform movement dining at the Detective Branch office in Dhaka, terming the incident a “mockery” of the nation.

“Whoever you detain, you make them sit at the dining table. Who is asking you to do these things? Do not mock the nation in this manner,” the HC bench told the state counsels during a hearing of the petition.

The coordinators currently under the DB custody are: Nahid Islam, Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah, Abu Baker Majumdar, Asif Mahmud and NusratTabassum.

All of them were picked up by the DB on Saturday (27 July) for ‘security reasons’.