The High Court has ordered that no hartal or blockade can be enforced in the name of bus owners’ associations or road transport associations in protest against any judgment or order of the court.

A High Court bench led by Justice Shashanka Shekhar Sarkar passed the order on Sunday (13 September).

The court observed that under Article 112 of the Constitution, all executive and judicial authorities in Bangladesh are bound to comply with the judgments and orders of the Supreme Court.

If any party is aggrieved by a court verdict or order, it may seek an appeal or other legal remedy, the court said. However, there is no scope to call a strike, shutdown or work stoppage against a court verdict or order.

The court further observed that such programmes against judicial decisions amount to disrespect towards the judiciary and are also inconsistent with the Constitution.

The ruling directed the secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) and other relevant authorities to take necessary legal action if any strike or shutdown is called against a court verdict or order.

Case dates back to 2011 accident

The case originated from a road accident in August 2011 in Ghior upazila of Manikganj, when a bus operated by Deluxe Paribahan collided with a microbus, killing five people, including filmmaker Tareque Masud and journalist and broadcaster Mishuk Munier.

In the case filed over the accident, a Manikganj Additional District and Sessions Judge’s Court sentenced the bus driver on 22 February 2017.

Following the sentencing, bus owners called a transport strike and shutdown.

After reports about the strike appeared in the media, Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) filed a writ petition with the High Court in the public interest.

During the hearing, a High Court bench issued a rule on 1 March 2017 and directed the authorities to withdraw the strike and shutdown within 24 hours and take steps to restore normal vehicular movement on the roads.

The strike was withdrawn the following day.

After the final hearing of the rule, the bench of Justice Shashanka Kumar Sarkar and Justice Faisal Hasan Arif made the rule absolute and delivered the latest judgment.

Senior Advocate Manzil Morshed appeared for the writ petitioner.

He told the court that compliance with court verdicts and directions is mandatory for all concerned. Although an aggrieved party has the right to appeal against a judgment, there is no legal scope to call a strike or shutdown in protest against it.

He also argued that transport strikes disrupt public movement and cause widespread suffering to ordinary people.