Appellate division halts High Court‍‍`s order on Autorickshaws in Dhaka for one month

The Appellate Division’s Chamber Court has decided to temporarily delay the High Court’s order that would have banned or placed restrictions on the use of battery-powered rickshaws in Dhaka. 

The court has decided to keep things as they are for one more month.

This ruling came after the government challenged the High Court’s earlier decision. 

On Monday, Justice Md. Rezaul Haque, who led the Chamber Court, said that battery-run rickshaws will still be allowed on the streets of Dhaka for now, as explained by the lawyers involved in the case.

Previously, on November 19, the High Court had ruled that battery-operated rickshaws in Dhaka must either stop running or face restrictions within three days. 

The court had given instructions to several authorities, including the Home Secretary, the Inspector General of Police, the Dhaka District Commissioner, and the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner to carry out this order.

In response, the government asked the Appellate Division to suspend the High Court’s ruling, and the court heard the appeal on Monday.

During the hearing, the government’s Attorney General Md. Asaduzzaman presented their case, while Advocate HM Sanjid Siddique represented the petitioners.

This case started on October 27 when a writ petition was filed, challenging the lack of action regarding battery-powered rickshaws in Dhaka. 

The petitioners, Zahidul Islam and Md. Momin Ali, who are leaders of the Greater Dhaka City Corporation Rickshaw Owners‍‍` Association, had argued that the authorities had failed to regulate the rickshaws properly. 

The High Court, after hearing the initial petition, issued its order on November 19.

The petitioners had asked the court to explain why the lack of restrictions on the rickshaws should not be considered illegal. 

They also raised the issue of illegal power connections used to charge the rickshaws‍‍` batteries. The court had given the concerned authorities four weeks to respond to these points.