Why Meghna Alam’s detention not illegal: HC

The High Court has issued a rule questioning the legality of model Meghna Alam’s detention under the Special Powers Act and her confinement at the Detective Branch office for over 24 hours.

The rule asks why the arrest order issued by the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate under the Special Powers Act should not be declared unlawful.

A division bench of the High Court on Sunday (April 13) heard a writ petition and issued an order concerning the detention of Meghna Alam. The court asked the authorities to respond to the rule within two weeks.
Senior lawyer Barrister Sara Hossain represented the petitioner during the hearing.

The writ petition was filed with the Supreme Court’s relevant branch, challenging the arrest of Meghna Alam—Miss Earth Bangladesh 2020—on grounds of public safety, state security, and law and order.
Meghna’s father filed the petition on Sunday (April 13), contesting her detention.

Earlier, on April 10, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Sefat Ullah ordered her to be detained in jail for 30 days following a government application.
The detention order stated that, under Section 3(1) of the Special Powers Act, 1974, Meghna Alam would be held for 30 days from the date of the order’s approval. The decision was made to prevent her from engaging in activities deemed harmful to public safety and law and order, as per Section 2(f) of the Act. She was later transferred to Kashimpur Jail.