Date of filing: 22/07/25
Petitioners:
- Md. Anisur Rahman Raihan
Respondents
1. Secretary, Ministry of Defence.
2. The Secretary/ Senior Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Walfare.
3. The Secretary, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.
4. Air Chief Marshal, Bangladesh Air Force.
5. Senior Secretary, Department of Fire Service and Civil Defence
6. Director General, Fire Service and Civil Defence Directorate.
7. Director General, Department of Disaster Management.
Facts:
10.01.2026
Date: 2024/04/22
On 21 July 2025, a Bangladesh Air Force FT-7 BGI training aircraft crashed into a two-storey building of Milestone School and College in Uttara (Diabari), Dhaka, reportedly due to a technical malfunction. At the time of the incident, primary-level students were present in classrooms, resulting in at least 20 deaths, including the pilot, and approximately 171 injuries, most of whom were children. It is reported that the pilot attempted to steer the aircraft away from densely populated areas prior to the crash. A joint rescue operation was conducted by the Bangladesh Army, Air Force, Police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Armed Police Battalion, and Fire Service and Civil Defence. The injured victims were transported to several hospitals, including Combined Military Hospital and the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, where many remained in critical condition and several bodies required identification through DNA testing. The incident received extensive media coverage, and it is further stated that the aircraft was part of a fleet procured from China in 2013. The respondents failed to discharge their constitutional duty under Article 32 of the Constitution (right to life) by not taking adequate preventive measures, rendering such inaction unlawful and without legal authority. Accordingly, the petitioner seeks directions for a judicial and technical investigation into the incident, a ban on operating defective and training aircraft over densely populated areas, provision of adequate medical treatment including treatment abroad for the injured victims, compensation of Tk 5 crore for each deceased and Tk 1 crore for each injured, and implementation of preventive measures such as mandatory fire safety equipment in schools and inclusion of students’ blood group and guardian contact information on school identification cards, and has filed the writ petition as an aggrieved citizen in the absence of any effective alternative remedy.
Rule: Rule Nisi and direction
On 22 July 2025, after a preliminary hearing of the Public Interest Litigation (Writ Petition No.11842 of 2025) a division bench of the High Court Division comprising Ms. Justice Fahmida Quader and Mr. Justice Sayed Jahed Mansur issued a rule nisi calling upon the Respondents to show cause as to why their inaction in failing to take necessary steps to protect the right to life under Article 32 of the Constitution, in relation to the incident of 21.07.2025 at Milestone School and College should not be declared unlawful and without legal effect. The Court has further called upon the Respondents to show cause as to why they should not be directed to constitute an expert investigation committee within one week and complete the investigation within 45 days, to ban flights of defective and training aircraft over populated areas, to ensure full medical treatment of the injured persons at home or abroad at government expense, to provide compensation of Tk 5 crore to each deceased and Tk 1 crore to each injured victim, and inclusion of blood group and guardian contact information on student ID cards and mandatory fire extinguishers in all educational institutions.
Details
Justices
Ms. Justice Fahmida Quader and Mr. Justice Sayed Jahed Mansur
Area of law:
Article 31 and 32 of Bangladesh Constitution.
Keywords
Right to Life, Authority Negligence
Relevant statute
Bangladesh National Building Code
Details