Charge-framing hearing in Anisul Huq arms case deferred to Sept 24

A Dhaka court has deferred the charge-framing hearing against former law minister Anisul Huq in an arms case filed with Banani Police Station, fixing September 24 for the next hearing.

Dhaka Special Tribunal-4 Judge Mohammad Moin Uddin Chowdhury passed the order on Sunday (August 23) after the defence sought additional time.

Anisul Huq, who is in custody, was produced before the court during the hearing.

Defence lawyer Sumon Hossain said Huq had a valid licence for the firearm registered in his name, but the necessary documents were lost during the July 2024 movement. The defence is now trying to obtain duplicate copies of the documents and sought more time to present them before the court.

According to the case documents, Huq had a licensed pistol for personal security under Banani Police Station. Following August 5, 2024, the Home Ministry suspended all firearm licences issued for personal security between January 6, 2009 and August 5, 2024, and ordered licence holders to surrender their weapons within a specified period.

The case alleges that Huq kept the firearm without surrendering it from September 4, 2024 to May 5, 2025 and did not inform the police station about the weapon. Banani Police Sub-Inspector Md Jane Alam Dulal later filed the case under the Arms Act.

After completing its investigation, Banani Police Sub-Inspector Md Yadul Huq submitted a charge sheet against Anisul Huq to the court on August 29, 2025.

The charge-framing hearing was subsequently scheduled, but it was deferred following the defence's request for time to collect documents related to the firearm licence. The case will now come up for hearing on September 24.