The High Court has ordered the Inspector General of Police to instruct all police stations to stop filing cases under an abolished section of the Special Powers Act.
Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman gave the order on Monday at a pre-bail hearing for several people accused under the section of the law in parts of the country.
Assistant Attorney General Md Yusuf Mahmud Morshed said Bangladesh scrapped the Section 16 of the Special Powers Act 27 years ago.
"But police still file cases mistakenly under it," he said, reports bdnews24.com.
“As this part of the law has no basis, it is illegal to file cases under it. As such the court has decided of its own volition to send instructions to the police chief,” he said.
The abolished section had prohibited “prejudicial acts” allowing the police to arrest people just by citing accusations of “conspiracy” and “secret meetings or gatherings”.
“If the people are accused in the abolished section of the law, the suspects get off the hook,” Morshed said.
The Section 16 (1) of the Special Powers Act had barred any person from engaging in “prejudicial acts”.
Under the Section 16 (2), if people were found guilty of prejudicial acts, they would be sentenced to a maximum of five years in jail or fined or be punished with both.
In December 2016, a number of Ashulia garment workers began a protest to demand a minimum wage of Tk 15,000, which prompted the BGMEA to shut 55 factories.
Then, on Dec 19, Ashulia police arrested 15 labour activists for ‘conspiracy’ and ‘plotting criminal activity’ under Section 16 (2) of the Special Powers Act 1974.
Then Samajtantrik Sramik Front Office Secretary Khalekuzzaman Lipon challenged the validity of the arrest of Garment Sramik Front Savar-Ashulia Industrial Area Thana General Secretary Ahmed Jibon in a petition to the High Court.
The petition was heard by the court on Jan 17, 2017 by Justice Syed Rifat Ahmed and Justice Md Selim. The court issued a rule on the matter asking why police arrests ordered under the law would not be declared illegal.
According to Morshed, Sections 16, 17 and 18 of the Special Powers Act were abolished in 1990 through an ordinance by Justice Sahabuddin Ahmed, who was serving as the president after the end of the HM Ershad regime. The amendment was passed in 1991 after the formation of a BNP government.
The Section 16 of the law was then revived in 2007 by the military-backed caretaker government who justified its use during the state of emergency to prevent ‘damaging and destructive’ acts.
In 2008, when the Awami League came to power, it passed 122 ordinances, but did not revive the relevant ordinance relating to the Special Powers Act. As a result Sections 16, 17 and 18 of the Special Powers Act remain abolished.