BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas have been provided first-class division facilities in jail, a state counsel informed the High Court.
However, the lawyers of the BNP leaders wanted to confirm the government's step regarding the division.
In this circumstance, the High Court on Tuesday adjourned the order on two writ petitions filed by the lawyers of the BNP leaders seeking division in the jail till Wednesday.
The High Court bench of Justice K M Kamrul Kader and Justice Mohammad Ali passed the order after hearing the parties.
Earlier in Tuesday morning, two writ petitions were filed with the High Court, seeking directives upon the prison authorities to give division facilities to BNP leaders Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Mirza Abbas in jail.
Fakhrul's wife Rahat Ara Begum and Abbas's wife Afroza Abbas submitted the petitions to the court, saying their husbands deserve division facilities in jail under the jail code as they are former lawmakers and ministers.
During the hearing in the afternoon state counsel Deputy Attorney General ABM Abdullah Al Mahmud Bashar informed the court that both the BNP leaders were given first-class division facilities in jail since Tuesday. Then lawyer AJ Mohammad Ali, a counsel for the BNP leaders, wanted to confirm about the facilities.
Hearing both sides, the HC bench adjourned the matter till Wednesday.
Mr Bashar also said, “Metropolitan Magistrate ordered the prison authorities to give BNP leaders division facilities on December 9. However, the writ petitioners alleged that the prison authorities were not complying with the court direction. However, a document we found that states the BNP leaders were given division facilities since today (Tuesday).”
A prisoner gets a separate room, a bed, a table, a newspaper and some other facilities in jail if he or she is granted division facilities under the jail code.
BNP Secretary General Fakhrul and the party's standing committee member Abbas are now in jail in a case filed over the December 7 clash between police and BNP men in the capital's Naya Paltan area.
A Dhaka Court on Monday rejected bail petitions of 224 BNP leaders and activists, including party’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas, in the case.
