Article 27 Equality before law
Equality before law
It is the most frequently cited right in public law challenges, from job recruitment to licensing decisions. Businesses and investors rely on it to challenge arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by regulators.
Article 27 places every citizen on the same footing. A minister, a police officer and a day labourer are all bound by the same laws and can be held to account by the same courts.
A government office applies a rule that favours one group of applicants over another in the same position, with no sensible reason. The disadvantaged applicant believes the decision is arbitrary and unfair. It is the kind of unequal treatment Article 27 exists to prevent.
The applicant files a writ petition. The High Court Division asks whether the different treatment rests on a reasonable classification linked to a legitimate aim, or whether it is simply arbitrary. The State must justify the distinction it has drawn.
If the distinction is unreasonable, the court declares the action or rule unlawful and may direct the authority to decide again fairly. If the classification is reasonable, the rule stands, because equality allows sensible differences.
In plain English
How Article 27 works
Article 27 is the basic promise of equality. Every citizen is equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law. Equality before law means no one is above the law: ministers, officials and ordinary people are all subject to the same legal rules and the same courts. Equal protection means the State must treat people in similar situations in a similar way. It does not stop the State from making different rules for different groups, but any classification must be reasonable and connected to a legitimate purpose. Arbitrary or unfair treatment by a public authority can be challenged in court as a breach of this article.
In practice
Courts read Article 27 alongside Articles 28, 29 and 31 and test whether any classification is reasonable rather than arbitrary. In BNWLA v Bangladesh (2009) the High Court Division relied on Articles 27 and 28(2) to issue guidelines against sexual harassment. In 2015 the High Court Division declared the Joint Drive Indemnity Act 2003 void, stating that nobody, including law enforcement agencies, is above the law. Article 27 also features in challenges to recruitment, licensing and tax decisions. The Constitution Reform Commission recommended in February 2025 that equality guarantees be expanded within a consolidated rights charter; this is a proposal and has not been enacted.
The text
What Article 27 says
27. All citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law.
English text as published on the official Laws of Bangladesh website. The Bangla text is authoritative (Article 153). Where a court has changed the position, the status note above explains it.
Landmark cases
How the courts have read it
High Court Division · 2009
Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA) v Government of Bangladesh
Held that sexual harassment violates the equality guarantees in Articles 27 and 28(2) and issued binding guidelines for workplaces and educational institutions until Parliament legislates.
High Court Division · 2015
ZI Khan Panna v Bangladesh (Joint Drive Indemnity Act case)
Declared the Joint Drive Indemnity Act 2003, which shielded those who carried out Operation Clean Heart in 2002 and 2003, void and unconstitutional for violating equality before law and the protection of law.
Case summaries are short descriptions for orientation, not a substitute for the judgment.
Connected provisions
Related articles
Questions
Article 27: frequently asked questions
What is Article 27 of the Constitution of Bangladesh?
Article 27 states that all citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law. It means nobody is above the law and that the State must not treat people in similar situations differently without a reasonable basis.
Does equality before law mean everyone must be treated identically?
No. The State may make different rules for different groups, such as special measures for women, children or disadvantaged citizens. The courts ask whether a classification is reasonable and linked to a legitimate purpose. Arbitrary or unjustified distinctions breach Article 27.
Sources
- Laws of Bangladesh: The Constitution, Article 27
- The Daily Star: Recognising women's right to a safe workplace
- The Daily Star: Indemnity law illegal: HC (13 September 2015)
- The Business Standard: What Constitution Reform Commission says on fundamental rights, freedom (February 2025)
This guide explains the Constitution for general understanding. It is not legal advice. Constitutional reform proposals under discussion in 2026 are described as proposals until enacted.
Constitutional and writ practice
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