Chattogram jail superintendent show-caused over failure to release detainee after HC bail
The detainee’s lawyer said no warrant was pending against him in any other case after the High Court granted him one-year interim bail.
A Chattogram court has issued a show-cause notice to the senior jail superintendent of Chattogram Central Jail for failing to release a detainee despite the High Court granting him bail.
Chattogram Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Mahidul Islam directed Senior Jail Superintendent Iqbal Hossain to explain in writing within two working days why the detainee was not released.
The court issued the order on Thursday (17 September).
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The detainee, Ilyas Hossain, is the general secretary of Omar Gani MES University College unit of the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League.
He was sent to jail on 6 June after being shown arrested in two separate cases filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act. He is currently on bail in three of the four cases against him.
The High Court granted him one-year interim bail in a case filed with Kotwali Police Station on 7 September.
The jail authorities received the bail bond at noon on 16 September, but Ilyas was not released within the following 24 hours.
His lawyer, FM Ansar Ullah, said no production or custody warrant was pending against Ilyas in any other case.
He argued that jail authorities have no legal basis to keep an accused in custody after receiving a valid bail order when no other warrant is pending against the person.
According to the lawyer, verification of the relevant documents should take no more than one or two hours, and keeping someone in custody based on the possibility of a future warrant in another case is unlawful and violates human rights.
Contacted about the matter, Iqbal Hossain said he would respond to the show-cause notice before the court.
