The High Court yesterday rejected a writ petition seeking its order on the government asking it not to harass or arrest a man for marrying a Rohingya woman.

The court also ordered the petitioner Babul Hossain from Singair upazila in Manikganj to deposit Tk one lakh as fine for wasting the valuable time of the court.

The bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice JBM Hassan issued the order after holding a hearing on the petition.

The petioner's son Shoeb Hossain Jewel, 26, married Rafisa, 18, a Rohingya girl of Kutupalong refugee camp at a local mosque on September 14 last year after being refused by the marriage registrar.

Ever since, they have been on the run, and changed their location many times as police is conducting drives against them.

In this situation, Babul Hossain filed the writ petition with the HC challenging the legality of the law ministry's gazette notification directing all marriage registrars against conducting any marriage between Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas.

He prayed to the HC to stay the notification and allow his son Shoeb and Rafisa to record their marriage officially, Deputy Attorney General Motaher Hossain Sazu said. 

As per the Foreigners Act 1964, it is an offence if a Bangladeshi national gets married to any person from a “restricted area”, DAG Sazu told The Daily Star.

The rohingya refugee camps inside Bangladesh fall within the definition of “restricted areas”, he added. 

Following the law, the government on October 25 last year issued the gazette notification asking the marriage registrars to remain alert and stop such marriages.

The notification issued by the ministry revealed that rate of marriages between Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas has remarkably increased, particularly in Cox's Bazar, Bandarban, Rangamati and Chittagong.

As some dishonest marriage registrars are also involved in this practice, the notification threatened of tougher actions against those who carry out any marriage between Bangladeshi and Rohingyas.