The home ministry informed the High Court that it will not form any committee about the BDR massacre now as two criminal cases are pending with the Appellate Division and a Dhaka Court over the incidents.

Deputy Attorney General Tanim Khan paced a letter from the home ministry to this effect before the HC bench of justices Farah Mahbub and Debasish Roy Chowdhury during hearing a writ petition.

The bench fixed January 5 for passing an order on this issue.

Earlier on December 2, the attorney general’s office informed the HC bench that the government has initiated the process for forming a national independent committee in order to find out the real culprits and masterminds behind the killings during the BDR massacre in February 25-26, 2009.

The HC bench ordered the government to complete the process and to submit a report after complying with the directive before it by yesterday.

On November 5, the bench issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain why they should not be directed to constitute a national independent committee in this regard.

The court also ordered the home ministry to dispose of the application filed by the writ petitioners, seeking to form such a committee in 10 days.

It issued the rule and order following a writ petition filed by two Supreme Court lawyers—Md Tanvir Ahmed and Biplab Kummar Poddar—seeking its directive on the government to constitute a national independent committee headed by a retired Appellate Division judge.

The petition, submitted on October 20, also requested declaring February 25 as Shaheed Sena Dibas.

daily star