Kolkata: Rejecting bail plea to ISKCON monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in a sedition case, the Bangladesh High Court on Tuesday sought a response, asking the Bangladesh government to explain in two weeks why the accused should not be granted bail.
The bench of Justice Mohammad Atoar Rahman and Justice Mohammad Ali Roza issued the ruling in a hearing on a petition filed by Das.
A battery of lawyers represented Das during Tuesday’s hearing.
The high court’s ruling is said to be significant as this is the first time the court asked the government has sought an explanation from the government.
Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri had also raised the issue of Das’s arrest during his visit to Dhaka last December when he met with Bangladesh’s envoys.
On January 12, advocate Apurba Kumar submitted the bail petition on behalf of Das which was opposed by additional attorney generals Abdul Jabbar Bhuiyan, Mohammad Ashradur Rauf and Aneek R Haque.
Citing the bail petition, Kumar said the sedition case against Das is unacceptable as there is no government order for filing the case.
“A government order is mandatory for filing a sedition case against a person and a government officer can file such a case under the government order. But there is no government order for filing a sedition case against Das. A Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader has filed the case in violation of the relevant section of the rule book,” said Kumar in his submission.
Section 196 of Bangladesh’s Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) says, “No court shall take cognisance of any offence punishable under Chapter VI or IXA of the Penal Code (except section 127), or punishable under section 108A, or section 153A, of section 294A, or section 295A, or section 505 of the Same Code unless upon complaint made by order of, or under authority from, the Government, or some officer empowered in this behalf by the Government]”.
On October 31 last year, Firoz Khan, former general secretary of Chittagong’s Mohora Ward BNP, filed a sedition case with Kotwali police station accusing Das and 18 others of disrespecting the national flag during a rally of the Hindu community on October 25 in the port city’s New Market area.
Das was arrested from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka when he was on his way to Chittagong and the lower court rejected his bail petition twice.
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