Shawdesh Desk:

The High Court on Tuesday asked the government to include the names of 208 freedom fighters in the gazette within 90 days and provide them with allowance.

The HC bench of Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury and Justice Ahmed Sohel passed the order following a writ petition.

In its observation, the court said freedom fighters’ insolvency is a shame for the state. “The freedom fighter allowance is not a mercy for them but a right.”

Barrister Toufiq Inam Tipu stood for the petitioners while deputy attorney general Amit Das represented the state.

The HC also asked the authorities concerned to scrutinise the freedom fighter list through physical appearance and if there is any need for dropping the name of any freedom fighter from the gazette, a due process has to be followed, said Amit Das.

In this case, the court asked for serving show-cause notices to them and heard their explanations, he said.

In 2014, a list was sent to the Liberation War Affairs Ministry to insert the names of some freedom fighters. However, the names of 208 freedom fighters were dropped from the list after scrutiny in 2016.

In 2016, the freedom fighters filed the writ petition with the High Court seeking cancellation of the order.