The High Court has declared any strike or hartal called against a court verdict or order illegal and directed the authorities concerned to take legal action against organisations that call such programmes.
The court also directed the authorities concerned to take action against bus owners’ associations and workers’ organisations if they call strikes or hartals in protest against judicial decisions.
A bench of Justice Sashanka Shekhar Sarkar and Justice Faysal Hasan Arif passed the judgment on Sunday, making absolute a rule issued in 2017.
Deputy Attorney General Mohammad Ahsan Habib appeared for the state. Lawyer Asibul Haque represented the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC), while lawyer Md Rafiul Islam represented the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).
The rule was issued following a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) after transport owners announced a strike following a court verdict sentencing a bus driver over a road crash that killed filmmaker Tareque Masud, journalist Mishuk Munier and three others.
The accident took place in Ghior upazila of Manikganj in August 2011, when a bus operated by Delux Paribahan collided with a microbus.
A case was filed against the bus driver, and on 22 February 2017, the Manikganj Additional District and Sessions Judge’s Court sentenced him to prison.
Following the verdict, bus owners called a transport strike and hartal, according to reports published in the media.
In response, Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, a rights and environmental organisation, filed a writ petition in the public interest.
The High Court, following the hearing, issued a rule on 1 March 2017, asking why calling a strike or hartal against a court verdict should not be declared illegal.
After hearing the rule, the court made it absolute and issued directives to the Home Secretary, BRTA and BRTC.
The court directed the authorities to initiate legal and criminal proceedings against those who call strikes or hartals against court verdicts or orders.
In its hearing of the rule, the court said everyone is required to comply with court verdicts and orders under Article 112 of the Constitution.
While parties have the right to challenge a verdict through the legal process, including by filing an appeal, calling a hartal or strike against a court verdict is illegal and unconstitutional.
