The High Court has passed an order ruling that mentioning marital status must not be made mandatory for students seeking enrolment at any educational institution.
The High Court bench comprising Justice Naima Haider and Justice Md Khairul Alam passed the order on Thursday by partially granting the ruling of a writ in this regard.
Barrister Aneek R Haque appeared for the writ petitioner in court while Deputy Attorney General Amit Das Gupta represented the state.
On November 14, 2017, lawyer Fariha Ferdous and Nahid Sultana Jeni filed the writ in the form of public interest litigation in the High Court following a news report titled “What will the girl do now?”
A girl, the daughter of a day labourer, was subjected to rape in 2013 when she was a Secondary School Certificate examinee.
The rapist was sentenced to life term imprisonment for the rape.
The rape had resulted in pregnancy and she gave birth to a baby.
However, the rape survivor was denied admission to a nursing college as she had not identified herself as “estranged” in the application form as asked by the college authority.
On December 11, 2017, the High Court questioned the legality of educational institutions seeking information on the marital status of admission seekers.
The court issued a rule asking the authorities concerned of the government to explain why such an action of inquiring to know the marital status of admission seekers should not be declared unconstitutional.
The court also asked the authorities to admit the female student to Rajshahi Government Nursing College.
The High Court passed the order on Thursday after the final hearing of that rule.
