The Supreme Court has stayed the High Court (HC) order that declared illegal running mobile courts by executive magistrates.
The court said its stay order on the High Court verdict will continue until disposal of the leave to appeal petition.
A five-member Appellate Division bench led by acting chief justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah passed the order on Tuesday.
Lawyers have confirmed that there are currently no legal barriers for executive magistrates against running mobile courts throughout Bangladesh.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam represented the state in the court, while Barrister Hassan MS Azim, while Barrister Hassan MS Azim spoke in favour of the writ petition.
The court granted a plea moved by the attorney general to stay the High Court order, and set January 16 for the next hearing on the matter.
The caretaker government formulated the mobile court ordinance in 2007, later the Awami League-led government turned it into the Mobile Court Act, 2009.
On September 14, 2011, a mobile court sentenced Kamruzzaman Khan, chairman of Aesthetic Properties Development Limited, to 30 days of imprisonment for breaching several building codes.
Also Read- Are mobile courts serving justice?
Kamruzzaman challenged the legality of several sections and sub-sections of the Mobile Court Act in a writ petition submitted to the High Court on October 11, 2011.
On September 13, 2011, another mobile court fined Md Mojibur Rahman Tk10 lakh for being in breach of various building codes. Mojibur filed a writ on December 11, 2011 challenging the law and demanding reparation.
A group of bakery owners in Dinajpur also challenged various sections of the Mobile Court Act in 2012. They filed a writ petition on May 2, 2012.
The High Court on May 11, 2017, declared the mobile court conducted by executive magistrates illegal and contradictory to the Constitution.
On May 14 the same year, the state filed a petition with the Appellate Division against the High Court verdict on the issue.This article was first published on Bangla Tribune
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
