Latif Siddique gets bail in seven cases

The High Court yesterday granted six-month bail to former minister Abdul Latif Siddique in seven cases filed against him in October last year for his remarks on Hajj and Tablighi Jamaat.

The court also stayed proceedings of the cases and issued rules asking the government to explain why those proceedings would not be scrapped. The proceedings will be stayed until disposal of the rules.

An HC bench of Justice Md Nizamul Huq and Justice Farid Ahmed Shibli came up with the orders and rules after hearing petitions filed by Latif for scrapping proceedings of the seven cases in Dhaka.

Latif cannot get released since he is arrested in at least 21 other cases over the remarks filed with different courts outside Dhaka, said his lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua.

The former post and telecommunications minister made controversial comments on Hajj, Ijtema and Sajeeb Wazed Joy during an event in New York on September 28 last year. Amid huge criticism, he was later removed from the cabinet as well as the Awami League presidium.

On November 25 last year, Latif returned home and he was sent to jail after he surrendered to Dhanmondi Police Station.