Bangladesh Constitution protects peaceful assembly. Judges cannot simply rule that protection away.

Bangladesh’s High Court has, on the facts reported, turned the Constitution upside down. Justices Sashanka Shekhar Sarkar and Faysal Hasan Arif declared any strike or hartal protesting a court verdict illegal, even though Article 37 protects peaceful, unarmed assembly, subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by law for public order or public health.

Article 112 requires authorities to act in aid of the Supreme Court. It does not authorize judges to erase another constitutional guarantee or place judicial decisions beyond peaceful protest. A court cannot transform a duty to assist the judiciary into a command that citizens remain silent when judges get it wrong.

That reasoning is inept and constitutionally dangerous. Judges incapable of reconciling basic constitutional provisions should not wield such power. Parliament should demand proceedings to determine whether these judges are fit to remain in office and pursue their removal through every lawful constitutional mechanism available.