High Court seeks explanation on caregiver appointment for elderly, inquiry into woman's death

The High Court has issued a rule demanding an explanation from the social welfare secretary regarding the appointment, training, and deployment of caregivers or nurses for elderly and infirm citizens aged 65 and above. This is considered part of a social security initiative under the Department of Social Services.

Simultaneously, the court questioned the National Human Rights Commission's failure to investigate the alleged human rights violations of 75-year-old Nurjahan Begum. Her decomposed body was discovered in her Mirpur residence in Dhaka on May 31.

Furthermore, the court directed the law secretary to explain why a three-member committee, led by a judicial officer, should not be formed to investigate the cause of Begum's death. The bench of Justice Fatema Najib and Justice AFM Saiful Karim issued these orders after hearing a writ petition.

Barrister Shanjid Siddique represented the petitioner, while Deputy Attorney General Abdul Wahhab appeared for the state. Advocate Mohammad Sharif Sarker filed the writ petition as a public interest litigation on June 3. The petition argued that the circumstances of Begum's death, found days after she died in her flat under unsanitary conditions, constituted a serious violation of her fundamental right to life, as guaranteed by Article 32 of the Constitution.