Parliament on Wednesday passed a law, without any changes, that upholds an ordinance issued by the interim government granting legal protection to participants of the July Uprising.

The ordinance, titled July Mass Uprising (Protection and Liability Determination) Ordinance, 2026, provides indemnity to students and members of the public who took part in the movement that led to the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in 2024.

The bill was introduced by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed and later approved in parliament. It officially recognizes those involved as “participants in the mass uprising.”

Under the law, all civil and criminal cases filed against participants over incidents during the uprising will be withdrawn. It also prohibits the filing of any new cases related to those events and outlines procedures for resolving pending cases.

If any case is currently under trial, courts will be required to dismiss it upon an application by a public prosecutor or a government-authorized lawyer, once the government confirms the individual’s participation. The accused will then be immediately released or acquitted.

However, allegations involving deaths during the uprising can still be submitted to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which will conduct investigations.

The law also states that the commission cannot assign investigators who are currently or previously associated with the institution involved in the allegation. If an arrest becomes necessary during an investigation, prior approval from the commission must be obtained with proper justification.

If the commission determines that an act was a criminal misuse of the situation, it will submit a report to the relevant court, which will treat it as equivalent to a police report and proceed accordingly.

On the other hand, if the incident is found to be part of political resistance, the commission may recommend compensation for the victim’s family through the government. In such cases, no legal proceedings can be initiated in court.

During the debate, Member of Parliament Hasnat Abdullah criticized the government for not passing the National Human Rights Commission ordinance introduced by the interim government.