A collective of prominent women’s rights activists in Bangladesh has formally served a legal notice to senior police and government officials accusing them of violating a Supreme Court directive by unlawfully detaining model and activist Meghna Alam under the draconian Special Powers Act.
The notice, titled “Notice for Contempt of Court”, was issued to four top officials, including the Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
It alleges that Meghna Alam was forcibly taken from her home in Dhaka’s Bashundhara Residential Area on 9 April by approximately 30 plainclothes law enforcement officers — reportedly from the Detective Branch (DB) and Special Branch — without warrant, legal explanation, or access to a lawyer.
For over 24 hours, her whereabouts remained unknown. Only on the night of 10 April was she brought before a magistrate and sent to Kashimpur Women’s Central Jail under a controversial detention order. The police only publicly confirmed her custody in a Facebook post the next day, describing her as being in “safe custody.”
Activists allege the conduct violated Meghna’s constitutional rights under Articles 31, 32, and 33 — which guarantee personal liberty and due process — as well as a 2017 Supreme Court verdict (BLAST & Others vs Bangladesh) that established legal safeguards against arbitrary detention.
“This case represents a dangerous precedent where law enforcement appears to operate outside the bounds of constitutional oversight,” said Barrister Tabassum Mehnaz, one of the signatories.
The group — Nari Sohingshotar Biruddhe Narira — has demanded immediate disciplinary action against officers involved and warned they may pursue contempt of court proceedings if authorities fail to respond.
The incident has reignited criticism over the use of the Special Powers Act of 1974, which critics argue is routinely exploited to silence dissent and detain individuals without due process.
As questions mount over political motives behind the arrest, rights groups both in Bangladesh and abroad are closely monitoring the case.