Order not to arrest and harass Ivy in the new case

Photo: Collected

News Desk: The High Court Division of Bangladesh has ordered that former mayor of Narayanganj City Corporation, Selina Hayat Ivy, must not be arrested or harassed in any new cases.

The order was issued on Sunday (26 April) by a bench comprising Justice Rajik-Al-Jalil and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury.

Selina Hayat Ivy had previously secured bail from the court. However, after receiving bail, she was again shown arrested in two new cases. The court has asked why repeatedly implicating her in new cases should not be declared unlawful.

During the hearing, senior lawyers Sara Hossain and Motahar Hossain Saju represented Ivy.

After the hearing, her lawyers said that although Ivy was already on bail from the High Court, she was later “shown arrested” in two additional cases. A writ petition had been filed challenging the legality of those show-arrest actions.

It is noted that in July 2024, during the anti-discrimination student movement, a case was filed over the killing of garment worker Minarul Islam in Narayanganj, where Ivy was made an accused.

In that murder case filed against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 132 others, Ivy was listed as accused number 12. Several more cases have since been filed against her.

Legal observers believe that following today’s court order, the immediate fear of repeatedly being implicated in fresh cases has been temporarily eased.