The High Court has issued a verbal ban on allowing passengers on train roofs effective from Thursday.

The bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Ahmed Choudhury delivered the order.

The court also ordered the railway authority to provide an explanation by July 31 regarding black marketing of train tickets and taking passengers on the roof. 

On Wednesday, the same bench asked the Anti Corruption Commission and the state attorney for information regarding Dhaka University student Mohiuddin Rony’s demonstration at Kamalapur Railway Station protesting the irregularities of Bangladesh Railway and the harassment of passengers during travel. 

The High Court issued the ban during a hearing on the matter on Thursday. 

Mohiuddin Rony, a fourth-year year student of Dhaka University's Theatre and Performance Studies Department, had been protesting alleged mismanagement and corruption in Bangladesh Railway since July 7, after falling victim to the dodgy e-ticketing system.

He had been showing up at the station with a six-point charter of demands to reform the railway system.

His demands include stopping passenger harassment by the e-ticketing platform Shohoz.com, to prevent the black-market chain of ticket selling, to stop the online booking system altogether and facilitate an easier, more transparent way to buy any type of ticket for the masses, to increase the number of trains to meet the demand, and finally to form a strong monitoring cell that will truly ensure quality service on behalf of BR, right down to the price of goods like water, food, etc on trains.