Supreme Court
Supreme Court to conduct judicial activities physically from Wednesday
The judicial activities of both the divisions of will be conducted in physical presence maintaining health protocols from Wednesday.
The Supreme Court issued a press release in this regard on Monday.
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The decision was taken by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain in consultation with the senior judges.
Electioneering tempo rises in Aushkandi
With the Supreme Court paving the way for Aushkandi union parishad polls in Habiganj, candidates vying for the chairman position are making an all-out effort to woo the electorate. The polls are slated for November 28.
Four candidates are vying for the chairman's post —Awami League-backed candidate Delwar Hossain, and independent candidates Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury, Abdul Hamid Nixon and Ezharul Islam.
Some 20,000 people are eligible to cast their ballots in the UP polls on Sunday.
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Five residents of Dwigor Brahman, including Nishi Sutra Dhar, had filed an application with the secretary of the Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD) Ministry, seeking inclusion of their village under Khalilpur union of Moulvibazar district.
After scrutiny, the deputy commissioner of the district had turned down the plea.
Meanwhile, incumbent chairman of Aushkandi UP, Muhibur Rahman Harun, adopted a resolution, seeking not to insert Dwigor Brahman village under his union. A writ petition was filed in the High Court (HC) in this regard.
On February 28, the HC also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned as to why the inclusion of Dwigor Brahman village under Aushkandi union should not be declared illegal.
Seven people, including the secretary of LGRD Minsitry, deputy commissioners of Habiganj and Moulvibazar district, were made respondents to the rule which was returnable in four weeks.
In the meantime, the Election Commission announced the schedule of the UP election.
On November 1, the current chairman of Aushkandi union filed a writ petition in the HC, seeking a stay order on the election under the union.
The HC later asked the authorities concerned to take a final decision on demarcating the boundary of the union within 15 days.
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On November 23, the HC passed a stay order on the Aushkandi union parishad election. However, on November 24, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court cleared the way for holding the election, after imposing a stay on the HC order.
Delwar Hossain, an AL-backed chairman candidate, said, “A vested quarter is involved in playing a foul game over the election. The residents of Dwigor Brahman village have been casting their ballots under Aushkandi union since the Independence of the country.”
Taking a stance against the SC order, Muhibur Rahman said that Dwigor Brahman village is under Sadar upazila of Moulvibazar district and the residents of the village go to Moulvibazar for land registry purposes.
"But all development activities of the village have been carried out from the budgetary allocation of Aushkandi union," he said.
SC upholds top fugitive militant Salehin’s death penalty
The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death penalty of Salauddin Salehin, a dreaded militant from the banned JMB, who was convicted in the 2004 killing of Goni Gomez of Jamalpur.
A five-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order after hearing a petition.
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Salehin has been a fugitive since 2015 when his militant abducted him from a prison van carrying him to Mymensingh jail after a gun attack in Trishal upazila.
The court did not consider the appeal of Rakib, another death-row convict in the case, as he already died.
Deputy Attorney General Biswajit Debnath represented the state.
In 2006, Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal sentenced Salehin and Rakib to death in the case and later the High Court (HC) upheld sentence rejecting their appeal.
Rejected by the HC the two appealed the death sentence before the Supreme Court.
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Additional Attorney General Mehedi Hasan Chowdhury said Goni Gomez, owner of a pharmacy, who had converted to Christian from Muslim, was killed by the JMB men.
Rakib, another accused in the case, was killed in a gunfight with police in 2015.
SC seizes Quamrunnahar's judicial power in criminal cases
The Supreme Court on Monday withdrew the criminal judicial powers of Mosammat Quamrunnahar, former judge of the Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-7, for granting bail to a rape accused despite the court’s stay order on it. A five-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order when she appeared before the court. Quamrunnahar appeared at the court around 9:20 am. According to court sources, Aslam Shikder, former event manager of a private TV channel, accused in a rape case, was granted bail by a High Court in 2019, which was stayed by a chamber judge until a hearing by the Appellate Division.
READ: Judge Kamrunnahar loses judicial power temporarily
On March 2, 2020, Quamrunnahar granted bail to Aslam even though the hearing on the case was still pending before the Appellate Division. Quamrunnahar was asked to appear before the SC on April 2 to explain her granting the bail when the state counsel brought the issue to the court. The SC also asked Aslam to surrender before the lower court. On September 13, 2018, a rape case was filed against Aslam Shikder, former event manager of a private TV channel. On October 14, last year, Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Court-5 acquitted Aslam in the case. But the state appealed against the acquittal before the HC and the hearing is pending, said Deputy Attorney General Biswajit Debnath on November 15. Quamrunnahar made headlines early this month for her observation that police should not accept any rape case 72 hours after the offense. It triggered a storm of protests across the country. Then on November 14 Quamrunnahar was asked by the chief justice not to sit in the court. Later, she was attached to the law and justice department of the law ministry.
READ: SC directs lower court judges to give decisions publicly Quamrunnhar’s controversial observation came on November 11 when she acquitted all five accused, including Shafat Ahmed, son of Apan Jewellers’ owner, from the charges of raping two girls in Banani’s Raitree hotel in 2017.
SC suspends execution of death row convict until release of full judgment
The Supreme Court on Sunday postponed the execution of a death row convict Shukur Ali in a child rape and murder case in Kushtia until the release of the full text of the judgment.
The Appellate Division asked Attorney General AM Amin Uddin to inform IG(Prison) and the jail authorities of the order.
The five-member bench led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order after convict’s lawyer Helal Uddin Molla informed it of the preparation to execute Shukur following an ‘advance order’ of the court.
Helal Uddin prayed for court’s intervention as Shukur couldn’t appeal for review of the verdict as the full text of the order was not released as yet.
The apex court said the advance order was issued to transfer other three convicts from condemn cells whose punishment was reduced to life term imprisonment from death penalty.
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Meanwhile Helal Uddin said the advance order was already sent to Kashimpur Jail from Kushtia court and the preparations were made to execute the convict. As part of the process the convict sent clemency appeal to the President which got rejected, he said.
The Appellate Division on August 18 this year upheld the death penalty of Shukur Ali, and commuted death sentences of three others to life imprisonment in a case filed over abduction, rape and murder of 13-year-old girl in Kushtia in 2004.
The court later asked Shukur Ali’s lawyer Helal Uddin to submit a appeal to Chamber Judge for necessary direction in this regard and ordered to suspend the execution till November 16.
Chamber Judge Obaydul Hasan passed the order and directed IG (Prisons) and jail authority for enactment.
The court also asked Shukur’s lawyer to submit petition following the procedures for reviewing the judgment.
The other three accused sentenced life imprisonment in the case are Nuruddin Sentu, Azanur Rahman and Mamun Hossain.
On March 25, 2004, the victim was abducted by the accused while returning from a neighbour’s house after watching television at Lalnagar village under Kushtia's Daulatpur Upazila.
They took her to a tobacco field, raped and killed her.
The following day, her father filed a case against five people with the Daulatpur Police Station in connection with the incident.
Read:SC directs to deduct custody time from total jail term given to convicts
On February 4, 2009, The Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal of Kushtia sentenced five accused, Shukur, Sentu, Azanur, Mamun and Kamrul to death in the case.
Later the convicts filed separate appeals with the HC, challenging the verdict while the death reference was sent to the court for approval.
In the meantime convict Kamrul died in jail.
In 2014, The HC upheld their punishment.
Later the convicts filed appeals with the Appellate Division challenging the HC verdict.
SC forms 5-member committee to prevent sexual harassment
The Supreme Court has formed a five-member committee to receive complaints of sexual harassment, investigate those and make necessary recommendations.
Justice Krishna Debnath, a High Court judge, has been made the chairman of the committee.
Other members of the committee are- High Court division judge Justice Kazi Zinat Hoque, Md Badrul Alam Bhuiyan, Registrar of the Appellate Division, Advocate Fawzia Karim and Assistant Attorney General Advocate Tamanna Ferdous.
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The committee has been formed following a High Court order issued in 2009, said a statement issued by Md Ali Akbar, Registrar of the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
On August 7, 2008, a writ petition was filed with the High Court seeking its directive to prevent sexual harassment of women and children at workplaces and educational institutions.
Following the writ petition, the HC on May 14, 2009, issued an order to form a committee to prevent sexual harassment of women, girls and children in all institutions, including educational institutions, government and non-government organizations and media houses in the country.
India: Junior Home Minister's son held 'for killing farmers'
Indian police on Saturday night arrested the son of the country's junior Home Minister, who's accused of running over a group of farmers in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The arrest comes a day after the country's Supreme Court slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for apparently going slow in the case amid a nationwide outrage over the incident in which at least eight people were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri district last Sunday.
"Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish has been arrested after day-long questioning. He was not cooperating with the investigators. Ashish was evasive during his questioning," the deputy inspector general of UP Police, Upendra Aggarwal, told the media.
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In fact, Ashish was formally placed under arrest by the police around 11.30pm (local time) on Saturday after marathon questioning in connection with the case. On Friday, he skipped police summons for appearance.
Last Sunday, the Minister's motorcade ploughed into a group of farmers protesting farm reforms that they feared could hurt their livelihoods. While four of them were killed after being run over by a car allegedly driven by Ashish, four others died in the ensuing clashes.
To pacify the protesters, the state police on Monday booked the Minister's son for murder while the state government promised to pay a compensation of Indian rupees 45 lakh to the families of the deceased and Indian rupees 10 lakh to each of the injured.
The federal Minister, however, was quick to deny that his son was not present on the spot. "There were miscreants who had attacked our workers with sticks and swords. The farmers died when a car in my convoy overturned."
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Last Sunday's violence in Lakhimpur Kheri was just an aggressive manifestation of the nearly year-long protest by tens of thousands of farmers camping on the outskirts of the national capital in protest against three contentious agricultural laws.
While the Indian government insists that the reforms will help farmers get better prices by allowing them to sell their produce at markets and prices of their choice, the protesters fear the laws will favour private players at their expense.
Uttar Pradesh, ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, is India's largest and politically important state, where assembly polls are barely a couple of months away.
SC directs lower court judges to give decisions publicly
The Supreme Court has asked the lower court judges to pass their verdicts and orders in public in order to ensure transparency and accountability.
The SC directive came in a notification signed by the Registrar Md Golam Rabbani of the High Court Division under the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
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In order to ensure transparency and accountability, the lower courts have been directed to announce important interim judgments and orders, including bail, in public court in presence of the lawyers and parties concerned, said the notification.
All the judges of the lower court were instructed to follow the directive mentioned in the notification as per the court’s decision.
10 SC lawyers seek probe into leaked phone conversations
As many as 10 Supreme Court lawyers on Tuesday filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking an immediate probe into leaked telephonic conversations.
A writ petition can be filled directly in a higher court in case of violation of fundamental rights enshrined under the Constitution.
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Posts and Telecommunications department Secretary, Information and Communications department Secretary, Telecommunications and Information Technology Secretary, and Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission chairman have been made respondents to the petition.
Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir submitted the petition in the High Court on behalf of the 10 apex court lawyers this morning. A division bench of Justices M Enayetur Rahim and Mustafizur Rahman will hear the petition as per the court's schedule.
UNB has learnt that the petitioners have cited 20 high-profile instances of leaked telephonic conversations between 2013 and 2021 in their petition.
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Conversations between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and then Opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia, between General Secretary of Awami League Obaidul Quader and BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, between late senior lawyer Barrister Moudud Ahmed and Assistant Commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police Nazmul Hasan were some of the notable instances cited by the petitioners.
Privacy of personal communications has been guaranteed under Article 43 of the Bangladeshi Constitution and it is a fundamental right of the citizens, according to the Supreme Court lawyers.
Besides, Section 30 (f) of the Telecommunications Regulation Act, 2001, ensures privacy of phone conversations, they have pointed out. And according to Section 71 of the same act, "phone tapping is a punishable offence".
A person convicted of this crime can be sentenced to a maximum of two years in jail or fined Tk 5 crore.
The lawyers said it’s baffling how not a single case has been filed by the victims or the telecom regulators in this regard to date.
It’s settled: Life term means 30 yrs imprisonment
Life imprisonment in Bangladesh means a convict will remain behind bars for 30 years unless specifically mentioned in the verdict that the person is sentenced to imprisonment until natural death.
The 120-page full verdict of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh on the matter was published on its website on Thursday.
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“Imprisonment for life is equivalent to imprisonment for 30 years if sections 45 and 53 are read together along with sections 55 and 57 of the Penal Code and 35A of the Code of Criminal Procedure,” it read.
However, the convict will not be entitled to get the benefit of section 35A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, if awarded life imprisonment by the International Crimes Tribunal under International Crimes Tribunals Act, 1973.
Also read: Life term means 30 yrs imprisonment: Appellate Division
A seven-member bench, led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, passed a short verdict on December 1 last year over the matter following a review petition filed by a convict, Ataur Mridha.
Attorney General AM Amin Uddin stood for the state while Advocate Khandakar Mahbub Hossain represented the petitioner.