The High Court in a verdict on Monday asked the police, lower court judges and jailers to collect and verify identity documents鈥攏ational identification cards, or passports, or birth certificates鈥攐f the accused and inmates to prevent impersonation.聽聽
The verdict asked judges to collect the identification documents from the accused as they appear in courts to surrender in connection with cases, while also asked the jailers to collect the biometrics of the accused and convicts apart from the identification documents upon their arrival at the jails.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
Similarly, the High Court asked members of the law enforcement agencies to collect the identification documents of the accused before arresting them.
The bench of Justice Md Ashraful Kamal issued the directives in the verdict while disposing of an appeal filed by Mirajul Islam, impersonating Uttara west unit Juba League leader Nazmul Hasan, who was jailed for seven years in his absence in a narcotic substance case.
The High Court took up the impersonation case on February 15 after taking into cognisance a report titled 鈥楯uba League leader鈥檚 fraudulence practice in narcotic case鈥� published by Dainik Kalbela the same day.聽聽聽
The bench asked the High Court registrar to file a cheating case against Mirajul, Nazmul and Nazmul鈥檚 relative Farid over the impersonation.
The HC verdict said that Farid authenticated Mirajul as Najmul in the affidavit of the appeal Mirajul, impersonating as Najmul, filed in the High Court against the lower court verdict that had sentenced Najmul seven years in jail.
The bench asked the Police Bureau of Investigation to probe the cheating case and find out if other persons were involved in it through underhand dealings.聽
The High Court also rejected the appeal filed by Mirajul as Nazmul surrendered in the lower court admitting that he gave Mirajul a hefty sum of money to impersonate him and go to jail as his proxy.
Nazmul was then sent to jail on May 13 following a directive issued by the HC.聽聽
Mirajul Islam, 23, from Phulpur in Mymensingh, impersonating Nazmul landed in the Dhaka Central Jail at Keraniganj on August 9, 2023, and spent 16 days in jail before he was freed on bail on August 20, 2023.聽聽
Lawyer Manzill Murshid appeared for Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh which drew the High Court鈥檚 attention over the impersonation.
Earlier on June 28, 2021, the High Court asked the secretaries of the home ministry and Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division to explain in two weeks why they would not be directed to introduce a system to store biometric data of arrested people and inmates at police stations and jails across the country.
The bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain and Justice Md Atoar Rahman issued the rule during the hearing of an application filed by Supreme Court lawyer Shishir Manir.
The lawyer filed the application in the case of detention of Minu, 33, who impersonated Kulsum Akhter, a convict with life-term sentence, in exchange of money.
On August 29, 2006, the High Court ordered immediate release of innocent Alam Babu, who was sentenced to death for a murder committed by Sundar Babu in Sutrapur area of the capital.
Sundar Babu along with others shot dead Gazi Liakat Hossain, a transport leader, in his house on March 14, 1998.
The investigation officer of the case allegedly presented Alam Babu as Sundar Babu.
Shishir Manir submitted before the High Court newspaper reports on at least 26 poor people who had been suffering in jail for years in place of fugitive offenders due to similarities in identity details, including their names and fathers鈥� names.
