Published: 01:29 AM, 15 September 2026
No arrests without scrutinizing authenticity: HC
Police personnel cannot arrest or harass any citizen merely upon receiving an arrest warrant. Before executing a warrant, its authenticity must be verified through the central data management system. At the same time, the High Court (HC) has directed that the identities of both the complainant and the lawyer must be verified when filing a complaint case.
A High Court bench comprising Justice K. M. Hafizul Alam and Justice Murad-E-Mawla Sohel passed the judgment on Monday (14 September 2026).
The order was issued while disposing of a rule in a writ petition filed to prevent the arrest and harassment of citizens through fake arrest warrants. The court directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to issue a circular containing necessary instructions in this regard.
Senior lawyer Manzil Morshed represented the petitioner during the hearing, while Deputy Attorney General J. R. Khan Robin appeared for the state.
Manzil Morshed told journalists, "Before executing an arrest warrant, a police officer must verify its authenticity through the central data management system. Only after verification can steps be taken to make the arrest."
The court directed the IGP to issue a circular incorporating these instructions and send it to all law-enforcement agencies. At the same time, the Registrar General of the Supreme Court was directed to send the necessary instructions to judges of all lower courts across the country.
According to the instructions, when filing a complaint case, copies of the lawyer's professional identification card and the complainant's National Identity Card (NID) must be attached to the case documents to verify their identities. District judges, metropolitan sessions judges, chief judicial magistrates (CJM), chief metropolitan magistrates (CMM) and other concerned judges were instructed to ensure compliance with this requirement.
In its judgment, the court said that the relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure must be followed when arresting any citizen. Failure to do so would constitute a violation of the law.
The court observed that arresting someone on the basis of a fake warrant violates that person's fundamental and constitutional rights, and that ensuring these rights is the responsibility of law-enforcement agencies.
The court further said that extreme caution is necessary both when filing cases and when making arrests so that no person is subjected to harassment through the courts. Otherwise, the damage suffered by a citizen may be impossible to remedy later.
Earlier, in 2013, Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) filed the writ petition. Following the initial hearing of the petition, the High Court issued a rule on January 30 of that year.
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