The High Court (HC) has formally ruled that any work stoppage or hartal declared in protest against a judicial verdict is entirely unlawful, directing the administration to initiate strict measures against transport owner associations or labor unions that instigate such demonstrations.

This definitive ruling was delivered by a division bench comprising Justice Sashanka Shekhar Sarkar and Justice Faysal Hasan Arif, which finalized and declared absolute a legal rule issued previously.

“Court judgments are binding on all under Article 112 of the Constitution. Although there is a provision for appealing against a court judgment, calling a strike in protest against the judgment is illegal and unconstitutional,” the bench observed.

The writ petition on behalf of the human rights organization Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) was advanced by Senior Advocate Manjil Murshid, while Deputy Attorney General Mohammad Ahsan Habib presented arguments for the state, and Advocate Md Rafiul Islam represented the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).