The High Court has directed authorities to include parents’ or guardians’ phone numbers and blood group information on the identity cards of all students across educational institutions in the country. The Education Secretary has been instructed to implement this order immediately.
The directive came on Tuesday from the High Court bench of Justice Fahmida Khatun and Justice Syed Zahid Mansur during the preliminary hearing of a writ petition.
In the same order, the court instructed the government to form an expert committee within seven days to investigate the recent crash of a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft on the Milestone School and College campus in Diabari, Uttara, which resulted in multiple injuries among students.
The court also issued a rule asking why the victims of the crash—injured students, teachers, and guardians should not be sent abroad for advanced treatment. It further ordered compensation of Tk 50 million for each student who died in the fire and Tk 10 million for each injured student. The court emphasised that arrangements must be made to ensure proper medical treatment for the injured victims.
Additionally, the High Court ordered authorities to ensure improved fire safety systems in all educational institutions and issued a rule questioning the legality of operating faulty aircraft over densely populated areas like Dhaka.
The petitioners’ side was represented by senior lawyers Advocate Zainul Abedin (Vice Chairman of the Bar Council), Barrister Kaiser Kamal, Advocate Gazi Kamrul Islam Sajal, and Advocate Siddiq Ullah Mia. Representing the state were Deputy Attorney General Shafiqul Rahman, Tanim Khan, Assistant Attorney General Ikramul Kabir, and Md. Isa.
The writ petition was filed by Advocate Anisur Rahman Raihan Biswas in public interest. It demanded the formation of an investigation committee and a ban on the operation of faulty aircraft, including fighter jets, over densely populated areas of the country.
The petition also sought disclosure of how many defective aircraft the Air Force currently possesses and what maintenance measures are being undertaken for them.