The Narayanganj MP is seen here ordering the abuse on Friday
The High Court has asked why legal measures should not be taken against MP Salim Osman and others who publicly humiliated a teacher in Narayanganj.
The bench of justices Md Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Md Iqbal Kabir issued the suo moto rule on Wednesday.
The court also asked the local authorities in the district to submit a report on what lawful measures have been taken following the incident last week.
Syamal Kanti Bhakta, headmaster of the Piyar Sattar Latif High School, was made to do sit-ups holding his ears in the presence of the Jatiya Party MP after being assaulted for his alleged remarks hurting religious sentiments.
The school from Bandar Upazila also sacked the Hindu teacher even as protests raged across the country over his humiliation.
The court asked the home secretary, Narayanganj’s deputy commissioner, superintendent of police, officer-in-charge of Bandar police station and the union executive officer to respond to its rule within two weeks.
Senior lawyers MK Rahman and Mohsin Rashid produced copies of news reports on the incident before the court.
The court order said: “This inhuman act has shocked the conscious of the judiciary. The Supreme Court is the keeper of the Constitution. As its guardian, we cannot keep our eyes closed.
“The newspaper reports show that it was a criminal offence. Section 35 (5) of the Constitution disallows such acts.”
But Narayanganj’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Mahid Uddin had said soon after the incident that the police ‘could not have done anything’ because what had happened to Bhakta ‘was not a criminal offence’.
Section 35 (5), under fundamental rights, says no person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment.
The court order said: “This inhuman act has shocked the conscience of the judiciary. The Supreme Court is the keeper of the Constitution.
“As its guardian, we cannot keep our eyes closed. The reports by newspapers show that it was a criminal offence. Section 35 (5) of the Constitution disallows such acts.”
But Narayanganj’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Mahid Uddin had earlier said police ‘could not have done anything’ because what was done to Bhakta ‘was not a criminal offence’.
Section 35 (5), under fundamental rights, says no person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment.
Source: Bd news24
