High Court orders formation of 12-member high-level committee for store management

On Wednesday (July 8), the High Court bench comprising Justice Habibul Gani and Justice Syed Tajrul Hossain issued this order.

The court directed the Law Secretary to form the committee. The committee, led by the Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, is to include a representative of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), a representative of the Coast Guard, the government counsel of Dhaka Metropolitan, a lawyer for the petitioners, a representative of the Attorney General, and individuals experienced in the relevant field.

The court ordered the committee to submit a report containing the progress and recommendations on formulating a policy regarding store management within two months.

Senior lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir argued on behalf of the writ petition. He was assisted by lawyers Saddam Hossain and Zayed Bin Amjad.

Earlier, on January 18, 2024, the High Court had ordered the submission of a report within two months on the latest status of case evidence preserved in stores of police stations and courts across the country. The Inspector General of Police was tasked with implementing that order.

It is noteworthy that on August 28, 2022, five lawyers of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the mismanagement and negligence in store management across the country. The writ stated that vehicles and other evidence worth crores of taka seized in various police stations and stores are being damaged due to lack of proper preservation. Various news reports and photographs of stores in 10 police stations in Dhaka were also presented in court.

The writ named the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Inspector General of Police, and the Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police as defendants.