Social Welfare Minister Rashed Khan Menon was hospitalised today after he fell down and suffered injuries during his morning walk at his government house in Dhaka.

Menon slipped and fell on the ground of the premises of his house at Mintoo Road around 7:00am, Anisur Rahman Mollick, politburo member of Bangladesh Workers' Party, told The Daily Star this afternoon.

One of the hip joint bones was fractured, said Mollick.

The minister was admitted to Square Hospitals immediately after the accident, Mollick added.

Should the trial of a case last for 24 years? What does it say about a judicial system if a case for alleged possession of drugs runs for a quarter of a century, without any hope in sight of its completion? In a country where the rule of law is respected in letter and spirit, this is incomprehensible.

Ahad Ali has been caught in the tangle of our intricate legal process since 1998 on charges of drug possession. This case encapsulates everything that is wrong with our legal system. Firstly, the circumstance of his arrest is dubious. A packet containing heroin was found nearby where he was sitting while waiting in Gabtoli for a bus home in 1998. He was not found in possession of it. Does proximity to a banned substance merit arrest? If so, was he the only one in that area? From his statement, it appears that he may have been framed, the intention of the police being to extort money from him. He failed to pay up the Tk 5000 they had demanded, and that has cost him 25 years of his precious life.

Secondly, should it take a quarter of a century to dispose of the case? We must ask: Why hasn't a single witness been produced after all these years? The case is so old that the current OC of Mirpur Thana knows nothing about it, and for all that he knows, and we can guess, the policemen involved in the arrest may well have retired or be dead by now. And what can be more pitiful than to find that the main witness, the sole one produced after 24 years, knows nothing about the case? So is the case with witness number two.

Admittedly, the case is serious, since possessing heroin over 25 grams is a penal offence which carries the maximum sentence of death. But we wonder why the court has not considered the repeated dismissal petition of the defendant. Is it the fault of the accused if the state fails to prepare the case and conduct it properly in court? We agree that trial judges go by the evidence produced. But if no witness is produced to corroborate the charges even after 24 years, should the ruling of the court not go in favour of the accused, since everyone is innocent unless proven guilty?

We believe this is a case the High Court should take cognizance of. The logic and even the legal position of giving fresh dates every time after a hearing, when no witness has been forthcoming for so long, has to be explained. Such miscarriage of justice should be righted, and be never repeated.

Expressing satisfaction at the arrest of Prashanta Kumar Halder, better known as PK Halder, in India on charge of laundering a huge sum of money, a High Court bench today (May 16, 2022) said the Indian government should be thanked for the arrest.

PK Halder, former managing director of NRB Global Bank and Reliance Finance Limited, fled Bangladesh in 2019 after allegedly siphoning off about Tk 10,200 crore from four non-banking financial institutions.

"Our message is clear that we have zero tolerance for any kind of money laundering and corruption. No corrupt or money launderers will be spared," the bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo said.

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PK Halder arrested in West Bengal

The bench made the observation today after Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik told it that according to media reports, PK Halder has been arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement in West Bengal of India on Saturday.

He also requested the HC to set a date for hearing the pending suo muto (voluntary) rule issued on November 19, 2020 over the government's move to arrest PK Halder.

The court said the matter will be included in Tuesday's hearing list.

On November 19, 2020, the HC bench led by Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder wanted to know what steps were taken to arrest PK Halder and bring him back home from abroad.

The Supreme Court today upheld a notice issued by the Dhaka University's Bangla department asking its students to keep their faces, including their ears, uncovered during exams and presentations.

The Appellate Division of the SC stayed a High Court order that halted the effectiveness of the notice issued by the department on December 11 last year.

The apex court, however, asked the HC to hear and dispose of the rule in two months. The rule ordered the authorities concerned to explain why the department's decision should not be declared illegal.

A full bench of the Appellate Division headed by Justice Md Nuruzzaman passed the order following a leave to appeal petition filed by the Bangla department challenging the HC order.

Writ petitioners' lawyer Faizullah Faiz told The Daily Star that following the apex court's order, the students under the department can be identified during exams.

Attorney General AM Amin Uddin appeared for DU Bangla department while lawyer Belayet Hossain argued for the writ petitioners during the hearing today.

Responding to a writ petition filed by three students of the department, the HC on March 28 stayed for six months the effectiveness of the notice and also issued a rule asking authorities concerned to explain why the department's decision should not be declared illegal.