Stopped or offloaded at immigration

Most people learn of a travel ban at the immigration counter, when the officer says there is an instruction against the passport and the boarding pass is cancelled. The officer works for the Special Branch immigration police, who act on entries made at the request of a court, the Anti-Corruption Commission, another agency or the passport authority. The traveller should note the time, counter, flight, officer's name and rank and the words used, and ask politely for the legal basis and the requesting authority.

Trying another port, another passport or a land border can itself be an offence under the Passport Order.

Where: Immigration desk (Special Branch), Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport · Time: Same day · Law: Article 36 Constitution of Bangladesh; Articles 3, 11 and 12 Bangladesh Passport Order 1973 · Documents: Passport and visa, Boarding pass and ticket, Written note of the stop (time, officer, words used)

Tip: Do not argue at the counter. A calm, written record of the stop is the most useful evidence for any later petition.

Identify who imposed the restriction

The remedy depends entirely on the source, so the lawyer first classifies the restriction. It may be a court order, usually by the Senior Special Judge on an ACC application, or a bail condition in a criminal case; a passport impounded or revoked under Article 7 of the Passport Order; an order under section 3 of the Foreigners Act for a foreign national; a missing tax clearance certificate under section 243 of the Income Tax Act 2023; a wilful-defaulter listing; or an informal police or agency hold with no order at all.

Only the last kind, and executive acts outside the statute, are the natural subject of a travel ban writ in Bangladesh.

Where: Lawyer's chamber · Time: 1-3 days · Law: Articles 6 and 7 Bangladesh Passport Order 1973; s.3 Foreigners Act 1946; s.243 Income Tax Act 2023; Article 102(2) Constitution of Bangladesh (no equally efficacious remedy) · Documents: Any ACC notice, FIR, complaint or bail order, Tax file and work permit (for a foreigner), Bank correspondence on default listing

Tip: A tax-clearance problem is solved at the tax circle in days. Do not litigate what a certificate will fix.

Search order sheets and obtain certified copies

There is no public register of travel bans. The lawyer therefore searches the cause lists and order sheets of the courts where the person may be named, starting with the Senior Special Judge's court in Dhaka for ACC matters, and applies for certified copies of any order restricting departure or directing deposit of the passport. The order sheet shows the date, the applicant, the stated reason and whether the person was heard.

If no court order exists, that absence is itself the central fact of a writ, because the Appellate Division requires a court to confirm any urgent executive restriction within three working days.

Where: Senior Special Judge's Court, Dhaka (or the criminal court that imposed the ban) · Time: 2-10 days · Law: Anti-Corruption Commission v Md Ataur Rahman (Appellate Division, 27 September 2021; full text December 2021); Article 36 Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Application for certified copy, Certified copy of order sheet and travel-ban order

Tip: Ask for copies of both the ACC's application and the order. The application often reveals how thin the stated flight risk is.

Written demand to the authority

Where no court order is found, the lawyer writes to the Special Branch immigration wing, the Home Ministry and any agency suspected of making the request, asking whether a restriction is recorded, on what legal basis and by whose order, and demanding its removal within a short deadline. For a passport action, the request is for the written order and reasons, which Article 7(4) of the Passport Order requires to be recorded and supplied. The letter and proof of delivery show the High Court Division that justice was demanded and refused or ignored.

Where: Requesting authority (ACC, Home Ministry, Special Branch, passport office) · Time: 3-14 days · Law: Article 7(4) Bangladesh Passport Order 1973; Article 31 Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Notice demanding justice, Courier or hand-delivery receipts, Any reply

Tip: Where travel is urgent, a short deadline of 48 to 72 hours is reasonable. State the travel date and why it matters.

Apply to the court that imposed the ban

If a Special Judge, Magistrate or Sessions Judge imposed the restriction or made it a bail condition, the High Court Division will usually expect the person to ask that court first to recall or vary it. The application proposes a defined travel window and return date, a foreign address, an undertaking to appear on notice, a local representative and, where helpful, security. It answers the ACC's stated reason, usually a risk of flight, with evidence of cooperation, a fixed residence and family or business ties.

The 2026 amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure expressly allow conditions to be attached to bail, which suits controlled travel.

Where: Senior Special Judge's Court, Dhaka (or the criminal court that imposed the ban) · Time: 1-4 weeks · Law: Article 36 Constitution of Bangladesh; Anti-Corruption Commission v Md Ataur Rahman (Appellate Division, 2021); Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2026 (conditions of bail) · Documents: Application to recall or vary the order, Itinerary, return ticket and invitation or medical letter, Undertaking and proposed conditions

Tip: Offer conditions in the application itself. Courts protect the process; they vary bans when shown a credible plan to return.

Order on the recall or variation application

The court hears both sides and either recalls the restriction, permits a single journey on conditions, or refuses. A permission order usually fixes the dates of travel and return, requires the passport to be returned to court afterwards and directs that a copy go to the Special Branch immigration wing. If the court refuses without reasons, refuses to hear the person, or acted without jurisdiction, the order can be taken to the High Court Division in criminal revision. A writ against a court-made order is usually rejected because revision is the equally efficacious remedy.

Where: Senior Special Judge's Court, Dhaka (or the criminal court that imposed the ban) · Time: Same day to 2 weeks · Law: s.10(1A) Criminal Law Amendment Act 1958; ss.435 and 439 Code of Criminal Procedure 1898; Article 102(2) Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Certified copy of the order, Copy sent to immigration

Tip: Collect the certified order and carry it to the airport. Immigration acts on paper, not on an oral report.

Draft the writ petition

Where the restriction has no court order behind it, or rests on an executive act outside the statute, the lawyer drafts the writ petition. It pleads Article 36 for a citizen, Article 31 for a foreign national, and seeks a declaration under Article 102(2)(a)(ii) that the restriction was imposed without lawful authority, with a direction not to obstruct departure. The respondents usually include the Home Secretary, the Special Branch and its immigration wing, the Department of Immigration and Passports and the requesting agency.

The petition explains the travel deadline and offers conditions such as an undertaking to return.

Where: Lawyer's chamber · Time: 2-5 days · Law: Article 102(1) and 102(2)(a) Constitution of Bangladesh; Articles 31 and 36 Constitution of Bangladesh; Hussain Muhammad Ershad v Bangladesh (Appellate Division) (statutory passport appeal no bar to a writ) · Documents: Draft petition and annexures, Proof of the airport stop, Notice demanding justice and replies, Evidence of travel need (visa, medical, employment)

Tip: Disclose every pending case against the petitioner. Concealment is the quickest way to lose an urgent motion.

Swear the affidavit, file and serve the Attorney General

The petition is verified by an affidavit sworn before a Commissioner of Affidavits at the Supreme Court. If the petitioner is abroad, a relative or attorney with a properly executed power of attorney may swear it. The lawyer files the petition at the writ section and serves a copy on the Attorney General's office, so that a law officer can appear for the Government. Because a travel ban writ in Bangladesh is usually urgent, the lawyer asks for the matter to be listed out of turn before the bench with jurisdiction over such writs.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 1-3 days · Law: Chapter XIA Supreme Court of Bangladesh (High Court Division) Rules 1973; Article 107(3) Constitution of Bangladesh (benches) · Documents: Sworn affidavit, Vakalatnama, Power of attorney (if petitioner abroad), Receipt of service on the Attorney General's office

Tip: Attach the ticket or the hospital appointment. Benches list a matter out of turn only when the record shows why it cannot wait.

Urgent motion hearing

At the motion the advocate shows, briefly, that the petitioner was stopped without any court order or lawful source, that the demand for justice went unanswered and that travel is time-sensitive. The law officer may say that an agency is investigating or that a court has since made an order. The bench decides whether there is an arguable case.

If an order of the Special Judge or another court is revealed, the bench is likely to reject the petition and point the petitioner to that court or to revision, as it did in November 2024 with a former tax tribunal official's petition.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 1-10 days after filing · Law: Article 102 Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Petition and affidavit, Short note of key dates

Tip: Ask the law officer to take instructions on the spot. A same-day statement that no court order exists often decides the motion.

Rule Nisi and interim permission to travel

If persuaded, the bench in a travel ban writ in Bangladesh issues a Rule Nisi calling on the respondents to show cause why the restriction should not be declared without lawful authority, and may grant interim relief directing the authorities not to obstruct the petitioner's travel. Interim permission is often conditional: a fixed journey, disclosure of the foreign address, an undertaking to return or to appear when called.

This is what the High Court Division did for a company director offloaded on a London flight in January 2021, before later holding the ACC's restriction illegal because no court had affirmed it.

Where: High Court Division · Time: Same day as the motion · Law: Article 102(1) and 102(2)(a)(ii) Constitution of Bangladesh; Tafsir Mohammad Awal case (High Court Division, judgment 24 February 2022) · Documents: Order issuing Rule Nisi with interim direction

Tip: Comply strictly with every condition. A breach destroys the case and invites contempt.

Serve the order on immigration and travel

The lawyer obtains the signed order and serves certified copies on the Special Branch immigration wing, the Home Ministry and the requesting agency, keeping receiving stamps. The traveller carries a copy to the airport. Immigration staff usually check with their headquarters before clearing the passenger, so service a day or more before the flight avoids a second offloading. Where the order sets a return date or reporting requirement, the petitioner keeps proof of return, such as the stamped passport page, for filing with the court.

Where: Immigration desk (Special Branch), Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport · Time: 1-3 days before travel · Law: Article 112 Constitution of Bangladesh (authorities to act in aid of the Supreme Court) · Documents: Certified copy of the order, Receiving stamps from each respondent, Proof of departure and return

Tip: Hand the order to the immigration headquarters, not only to the airport desk. Entries are removed centrally.

Affidavit-in-opposition and reply

The respondents answer the Rule by an affidavit-in-opposition. The ACC or police usually explain the inquiry or investigation and may annex a court order obtained after the stop; the Home Ministry may rely on the Passport Order or the Foreigners Act. The petitioner replies, pointing out any gap between the stop and court confirmation, and whether the three-working-day requirement was met. Where a court order was obtained later, the dispute may narrow to the period of the unlawful hold, or the petitioner may be directed to the court that made the order.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 1-6 months · Law: Article 102 Constitution of Bangladesh; Chapter XIA Supreme Court of Bangladesh (High Court Division) Rules 1973 · Documents: Affidavit-in-opposition, Affidavit-in-reply, Supplementary affidavit on later events

Tip: Answer every factual claim in the opposition. Unanswered statements on affidavit are usually accepted as true.

Rule waits for the hearing list

Once the affidavits are complete, the Rule waits to appear in the bench's cause list. Benches are reconstituted from time to time, so the matter may need to be relisted. If interim permission covered only one journey, the petitioner applies to the bench for further permission before each later trip, or for the interim order to be extended. A petition can become infructuous if the authorities withdraw the restriction in the meantime, in which case the Rule may be disposed of on that statement.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 6 months-3 years · Law: Article 107(3) Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Application for extension or further permission, Proof of compliance with earlier conditions

Tip: File proof of each return promptly. A clean compliance record is the best argument for the next permission.

Final hearing: Rule absolute or discharged

At the final hearing the bench decides whether the restriction had a lawful source. In the Ataur Rahman litigation the High Court Division declared an ACC embargo imposed without legal authority illegal, and the Appellate Division held that any urgent restriction must be confirmed by the appropriate court within three working days. If the Rule is made absolute, the court declares the restriction of no legal effect and directs the authorities not to obstruct travel without a lawful basis. If discharged, any interim order falls away.

A travel ban writ in Bangladesh ends with a judgment that binds immigration under Article 112.

Where: High Court Division · Time: 1-2 hearing days; judgment same day or within weeks · Law: Article 102(2)(a)(ii) Constitution of Bangladesh; Md Ataur Rahman v Government of Bangladesh, Writ Petition No 824 of 2021; Article 111 Constitution of Bangladesh · Documents: Judgment, Application for certified copy

Tip: Serve the judgment on immigration headquarters at once and ask for written confirmation that the entry has been removed.