A parliamentary special committee on Tuesday agreed to recommend that the indemnity ordinance issued under the interim government to provide legal protection to individuals including students who participated in the July Uprising of 2024, be adopted in full as a bill in Parliament.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed disclosed this while talking to reporters after the committee’s first meeting at the Cabinet Room of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.
He said the committee unanimously supported the ordinance, which grants indemnity to those involved in the uprising, describing them as ‘brave fighters’ whose legal protection is both a moral and state responsibility.
Following the meeting, Law Minister Asaduzzaman said the committee has also started reviewing 133 ordinances promulgated during the tenure of the interim government.
“We are carefully examining each ordinance in detail. A comprehensive report will be finalised and submitted by April 2,” he said.
He added that the primary objective of the review is to ensure a balance between constitutional provisions and public expectations.
“Our goal is to move forward by ensuring harmony between the Constitution and the aspirations of people. However, the supremacy of the Constitution will be upheld in all cases,” he added.
The Law Minister also clarified that the committee’s recommendations will not automatically become law.
Instead, the panel will submit its observations and proposals to Parliament which will take the final decision on whether those recommendations should be transformed into law, he said.
Meanwhile, according to a press release from Parliament Secretariat, the first meeting of a special committee formed by the Parliament was held at the Cabinet Room of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, chaired by Committee chairman Zainul Abedin, a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Vice Chairman and Member of Parliament for Barishal-3.
Committee members present included Home Minister Salauddin Ahmed, Chief Whip Md Nurul Islam, Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman, Dr Muhammad Osman Faruk, A M Mahbub Uddin, State Minister for Public Administration Md Abdul Bari, Muhammad Nowshad Zamir, State Minister for Social Welfare Farzana Sharmeen, Md Mujibur Rahman, Md Rafiqul Islam Khan, and G M Nazrul Islam.
At the outset, the committee observed a one-minute silence and offered prayers seeking eternal peace for those killed during the July 2024 mass uprising.
The meeting held detailed discussions on a wide range of ordinances issued by the interim government.
These included amendments related to the Anti-Corruption Commission, Special Security Force, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, government service laws, counter-terrorism measures, prevention of enforced disappearance, police reforms, human trafficking and migrant smuggling prevention, land use regulation and agricultural land protection, environmental conservation, civil aviation, and various development authorities, among others.
Key ordinances such as the “July Uprising (Protection and Accountability) Ordinance, 2026”, “Prevention of Enforced Disappearance Ordinance, 2025" and its 2026 amendment, and “Police Commission Ordinance, 2025” were also reviewed during the session.
The committee decided to continue examining the remaining ordinances at subsequent meetings. It further resolved to assess the necessity and validity of all ordinances and submit a comprehensive report to Parliament at the earliest opportunity.
After the meeting, committee chairman Zainul Abedin told reporters that a couple of members "have some opinions" on some of the issues in these ordinances.
"We have asked them to discuss them in the next meeting. If they cannot complete it in the next meeting, I have asked them to give it in writing," he disclosed.
The committee chairman said that their deliberations will resume tomorrow at 2 pm. If all the checks and selections are not completed, there will be more meetings. They hope to be able to submit a report by April 2.