The Appellate Division on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking relaxation of restrictions on anticipatory bails.
The petition filed by Supreme Court Bar Association president Khandker Mahbub Hossain sought review of seven criteria set
by the Appellate Division for disposing of anticipatory bail petitions by the High Court.
A five-judge bench chaired by Chief Justice SK Sinha said that the petition was not maintainable as the petitioner was not an aggrieved person.
The bench included Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana, Justice Syed Mahmud
Hossain, Justice Hasan Foez Siddique and Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury The court said it would consider the issue when an aggrieved party comes.
The apex court set the criteria in a verdict it had delivered on February 24, 2014 in the Anti-Corruption Commission’s case against BNP standing committee member Khandakader Mosharraf Hossain.
The apex court verdict was written by Justice
AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury.
The verdict said that anticipatory bails could not be granted on the ground that lower courts were not independent as they were controlled by the executive.
The apex court verdict also said that cooked up cases were being filed by the government to harass political opponents also could be no ground for granting anticipatory bails.
It also said that non-bailable offence cited in the first information report cannot be a reason for the High Court’s intervention for even the magistrates or lower
court or tribunal judges are competent enough to
enlarge on bail a person accused of non-bailable offences in deserving the cases.
Interest of victim in particular and society at large must be taken into account while the High Court grants anticipatory bail, said the directive.
Seeking review of the directives, Khandker Mahbub submitted that the litigants, mostly leaders of opposition political parties, felt helpless as the High Court has virtually stopped granting anticipatory bails due to the directives from the Appellate Division.
As the police arrest, harass and torture in remand hundreds of people in cases filed against unnamed persons the victims approach the High Court seeking anticipatory bails, he said.
Moudud Ahmed submitted that the High Court had inherent powers to hear and dispose of petitions seeking anticipatory bails and the inherent powers of the High Court cannot be curtailed.
Source: New Age
