Bangladesh High Court declares strikes against court verdicts illegal

Bangladesh’s High Court has ruled that strikes or hartals called to protest court verdicts or orders are illegal and directed authorities to take legal action, including criminal proceedings, against those involved.

The bench of Justice Sashanka Shekhar Sarkar and Justice Faysal Hasan Arif issued the judgment following a petition by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).

The petition stemmed from a transport strike called after a bus driver was convicted in 2017 over an August 2011 road crash that killed filmmaker Tareque Masud, media personality Mishuk Munier, and three others.

Senior advocate Manzill Murshid argued that Article 112 of Bangladesh’s Constitution requires all authorities to act in aid of the Supreme Court. The High Court said court judgments and orders are binding on all under Article 112.