The Bangladesh interim government cancelled a scheduled judicial training program of 50 judges and judicial officers in India. A law ministry spokesman confirmed the cancellation on Sunday, but he did not elaborate. The Daily Star quoted that the cancellation is in tune with an order by Bangladesh’s Supreme Court.
The training, which was initially scheduled for February 10 at India’s National Judicial Academy and the State Judicial Academy in Madhya Pradesh, was designed to be attended by district and sessions judges from Bangladesh as well as senior judicial officers from Bangladesh’s lower judiciary. India agreed to bear the costs of the program.
The move comes after a period of increasing tensions between the two countries. Since Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to New Delhi in August 2024, due to widespread protests which eventually led to the collapse of her government, relations between the two countries have worsened. Since the coup government led by Muhammad Yunus came to power in August, there have been serial attacks by suspected Islamists on Hindu communities across Bangladesh, causing governmental concerns back at New Delhi.
This strain has caused much concern, particularly following the detention of a Hindu monk on charges of sedition in Bangladesh last month.
