The High Court has rejected a rule seeking to allow National Identity (NID) cards to be issued using biometric data instead of photographs.
A High Court bench comprising Justice Md Iqbal Kabir and Justice SM Saiful Islam delivered the verdict on Wednesday (9 September).
As a result, photographs will remain mandatory for obtaining an NID card.
The writ petition was filed in 2022 by Sumaiya Ahmad Muna, a resident of Shantibagh in the capital’s Shahjahanpur area, who told the court that she observed Islamic rules on modesty and therefore refrained from having her photograph taken. She authorised her husband, Muhammad Arifur Rahman, to represent her in the case.
Advocates Sheikh Omar Sharif and Ilias Ali Mondal represented the petitioner, while advocate Kamal Hossain Miaji appeared for the Election Commission.
In her petition, Muna said she was an adult Muslim woman who regularly observed Islamic religious practices, including the requirement to observe purdah, and therefore avoided having photographs taken.
As a result, she did not have an NID card and was being deprived of various services and benefits that require an identity document.
She sought necessary steps to enable her to obtain an NID through an alternative system without a photograph. After her application remained unresolved, she moved the High Court.
On 6 March 2022, the High Court heard the petition and issued a rule asking why the authorities should not be directed to take necessary steps to issue an NID without a photograph by using alternative biometric identification features.
The court dismissed that rule on Wednesday, meaning photographs will continue to be required for national identity cards.
Comment
Design & Developed by: BD IT HOST
|
9 Septembertember, 2026 
