HC presses lower courts to hear Fakhrul's bail pleas in 9 cases

The High Court (HC) has ordered the judicial court to hear the bail petitions in nine cases against BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir for which he has not been arrested yet.

At the same time, the court issued a ruling asking why not accepting the bail pleas should not be declared illegal.

The High Court bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Md Atabullah gave the order on Monday (18 December) following the hearing of a writ petition filed by Mirza Fakhrul in this regard.

Advocate AJ Mohammad Ali and Barrister Kayser Kamal appeared in court on behalf of Fakhrul. Deputy Attorney General Tushar Kanti Roy and Assistant Attorney General Salim Azad represented the state.

Earlier on Sunday (17 December), Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir filed a writ in the High Court challenging the validity of non-acceptance of bail application in the nine cases.

On 13 December, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir's lawyer applied for bail in nine cases in which he was not shown arrested though his name was included in the case statement. 

However, when the applications were presented to the court for hearing, the judicial court said that the court has no jurisdiction to hear the bail application until the investigation officer shows him under arrest. The court advised taking the matter to the High Court in this regard.

Fakhrul's lawyer Syed Zainul Abedin Mejbah said although he has been accused in nine cases in which bail was applied for, the prosecution did not arrest him in these cases.

The cases include seven cases filed in Paltan police station and three cases in Ramna Model police station.