Dhaka, September 9 (NIA): The Bangladesh High Court on Thursday asked the government to recognize 2,367 guerrilla fighters of the 1971 liberation war as freedom fighters and restore the certificates issued to them earlier, Dhaka Tribune reports.
The High Court bench of Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore and Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman, also declared as “illegal” the revocation of the freedom fighter guerrilla certificates.
It asked the government to give the guerrilla fighters proper status, dignity and facilities befitting freedom fighters.
The guerillas had filed a writ petition in January, 2015, under the leadership of by Pankaj Bhattacharya, Deputy Commander of the Guerrilla Force which was formed in collaboration with the National Awami Party (NAP), Communist Party and Chhatra Union on March 26, 1971.
In the petition, Bhattacharya said that the Bangabandhu Mujibur Rahman -led Bangladesh government had recognized guerrilla fighters as freedom fighters and published their names in government notifications. A gazette notification by the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs in 2013,listed 2,367 guerrillas as freedom fighters.But in October next year, the list was scraped without any explanation.
In January 2015, the High Court, after primary hearing, issued asked the government to explain as to why scrapping the list of guerrilla freedom fighters should not be declared illegal. The court also stayed the government’s decision to scrap the list.
The writ petitioner’s lawyer, Subrata Chowdhury, said the list of guerrilla freedom fighters now exists officially after the High Court’s verdict. The guerrillas will get their dues backdated from October 2014.
