The High Court yesterday directed the police to remain cautious and not to misuse handcuffs for detainees.

The bench of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice AKM Zahirul Haque came up with the verdict after hearing a suo moto (voluntary) rule.

The rule was issued after a Jahangirnagar University student was handcuffed while being treated at a hospital in May last year.

The HC bench had issued the rule after a report headlined “Handcuffed to hospital bed” was published in The Daily Star on May 29 last year.

According to the report, Jahangirnagar University student Nazmul Hossain, accused in a vandalism case, fell sick on May 27 last year while protesting the deaths of two JU students in a road crash the day before.

Nazmul was treated at Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar with his hand cuffed to the hospital bed. When he requested removal of the cuffs so he could eat, police refused to do so, witnesses and his fellow students alleged, according to the report.

The HC issued the rule questioning the legality of the handcuffing during treatment after a lawyer for Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) placed The Daily Star report before the HC judges.

Yesterday, BLAST lawyer Abu Obaidur Rahman told The Daily Star that the details of the HC verdict would be known when the full text of the verdict is released.

The HC order means that the police cannot handcuff any detained person at places where there is no possibility of their escape, the lawyer said.

Abu Oabidur added that the police personnel concerned had apologised to the HC for handcuffing Nazmul during the treatment at the hospital.