The Appellate Division on Thursday fixed January 19 for a hearing of the review petition filed against the full judgment given by the Appellate Division regarding the amendment of Sections 54 and 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) relating to arrest without warrant and interrogation in remand
A seven-member full bench of Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order in view of the state counsel's time petition in this regard.
Attorney General AM Amin Uddin appeared for the state in the court.
Advocate ZI Khan Panna and Barrister Aneek R Haque appeared for the writ petition. Advocate Md Shahinuzzaman was with him.
The High Court, in the verdict on Apr 7, 2003, ordered the government to amend the two sections within six months with several points of instructions.
It also gave the government several instructions to be followed in the application of the sections before the amendment was made.
The High Court order came on a writ petition by Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) which sought the implementation of the recommendations of a judicial committee that investigated the death in custody of Independent University student Shamim Reza arrested under Section 54.
In the judgment, it was ordered to amend the existing provisions of arrest and remand interrogation under section 54 within six months. Besides, the government had been asked to follow several guidelines before revising those clauses.
However, the state appealed against it. In the appeal, it was mentioned that these two clauses in the law are sufficient and correct. There is no need for legislation or amendment.
The Appellate Division granted the State's leave to appeal petition in 2004 against the High Court verdict but did not stay it.
On May 24, 2016, the Appellate Division dismissed the appeal filed by the state against the judgment of the High Court with some directions.
However, the instructions of the High Court were not stayed.
Later, in February 2020, the state filed the petition to review the judgment of the Appellate Division regarding the amendment of the two sections.