The High Court today issued a rule asking the government authorities concerned to explain why their action of showing former Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) mayor Salina Hayat Ivy arrested in a fresh case, after she secured bail in other cases, should not be declared illegal.

The High Court also directed the chief judicial magistrate of Narayanganj not to allow any application from the police to show her arrested in any case without following due process of law.

The HC bench of Justice Razik-Al-Jalil and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury issued the rule and order following a writ petition filed by Salina earlier this month.

The petition was filed challenging the legality of Narayanganj’s chief judicial magistrate’s order that on March 2 this year granted a police application to show her arrested in a case filed with Siddirganj police station on June 30 last year.

The details of the High Court order will be known when its full text is released later.

Senior lawyers Sara Hossain and Md Motaher Hossain Sazu appeared for Ivy while Deputy Attorney General Jamila Momtaz represented the state during the hearing of the petition.

Barrister Sara Hossain told The Daily Star that Salina has been in custody since May 9 last year.

“She has already been granted bail in 10 cases [on November 9 last year and February 26 this year]. However, each time she secures bail, new cases were filed against her, though her name was not mentioned in the first information report (FIR) of the cases,” added Sara Hossain.

“Under the relevant law, certain conditions must be satisfied before a person can be 'shown arrested' in a case. The new legal provision clearly states that the allegation must be “well-founded,” meaning it must be supported by credible evidence and material.

"However, in this instance, no such basis has been demonstrated. It is evident that successive cases are being filed with the intent of preventing her release,” the lawyer added.