Embarrassed Judges In Bangladesh!! ..... ..... Re: Great Lives, Great Places: Hazrat Shah Mustafa
- From: nkdatta8839@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: 6 Apr 2007 12:26:36 -0700
On Apr 5, 9:38 pm, "VognoDuut1092" <zilm...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Great Lives, Great Places
Bangladesh Supreme Court Judge Was "Embarrassed" To Hear Bangabandu
Murder Case During Khaleda Zia's Reign!! ..... .....
[During hearing of the petition at the Appellate Division in August
2001 Justice Mohammad Gholam Rabbani felt embarrassed. Soon the
proceedings stalled as judges were not available to form a bench]
http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/03/21/d7032101011.htm
Daily Star, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Bangabandhu Murder Case
Proceedings may resume as SC now can form bench for hearing
By Zayadul Ahsan
Proceedings in the historic Bangabandhu Murder Case may resume any
time after about six long years, as the Appellate Division of the
Supreme Court (SC) now has enough judges eligible to hear the case.
The SC requirement of three judges to form a bench could be met with
High Court (HC) Judge M Hassan Ameen's elevation to the Appellate
Division yesterday.
Former special public prosecutor of the case Anisul Haque, whose
appointment was cancelled after the legal procedure froze, yesterday
said currently, there seems to be no legal roadblocks.
"It only needs an initiative to have the case back on the cause list
and begin the trial," he told The Daily Star.
A senior official at the Attorney General's Office said they would
soon communicate with the law ministry regarding the case and will
move upon receiving directives from there.
The official told The Daily Star, "We will consult the ministry also
about whether a team of special public prosecutors should be assigned
for the case or our office will do the job."
The long drawn out case has been pending with the highest court since
August 2001 due to shortage of judges eligible to hear the case. In
last six years, a three-member bench could not be formed because the
incumbent Appellate Division judges had either felt embarrassed or
heard the case before as HC judges.
After Syed JR Mudassir Husain retired as the chief justice on February
28, one post in the seven-member hierarchy of the apex court fell
vacant.
To fill the vacancy, President Iajuddin Ahmed yesterday appointed
Justice Ameen to the Appellate Division. According to an official
announcement, the appointment takes effect from his taking oath of
office.
Justice Ameen will take oath today. With his swearing-in, the number
of judges in the Appellate Division will get back to seven.
Of them, three judges--Tafazzul Islam, Joynul Abedin and Hassan Ameen--
can hear the Bangabandhu Murder Case as none of them felt embarrassed
or heard the case before at the HC.
Chief Justice Md Ruhul Amin and Mohammed Fazlul Karim had heard the
case while MM Ruhul Amin and Amirul Kabir Chowdhury felt embarrassed
to hear it at the HC level.
The case was filed on October 2, 1996, 21 years after the
assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his
family. A trial court on November 8, 1998, handed down death sentence
to 15 retired and dismissed army personnel.
The HC upheld the punishment of 12. Of them, only four are behind
bars, one has died and the rest are still at large.
Later, the four convicts filed petitions for leave to appeal against
the HC verdict.
During hearing of the petition at the Appellate Division in August
2001 Justice Mohammad Gholam Rabbani felt embarrassed. Soon the
proceedings stalled as judges were not available to form a bench.
The then BNP-led alliance government did not take any step to resume
the hearing despite there being enough room to do so. The then law
minister, Moudud Ahmed, repeatedly cited legal complexities as the
reason for not seeking to start the trial over again.
Between 2001 and 2005, it would take only one judge appointed on ad
hoc basis to meet the requirement of three judges for a bench. Later
when Justice MA Aziz was appointed the chief election commissioner,
the number rose to two.
Moudud on several occasions said the government could not appoint more
than one judge on an ad hoc basis whereas legal experts all along
maintained that it could appoint as many judges as it needed.
In October 2001, the then chief justice Mahmudul Amin Choudhury wanted
to have a judge in the Appellate Division appointed on an ad hoc basis
and suggested that the government do so, but to no avail.
Former chief justice Latifur Rahman in his book, "The days of
caretaker government and my say", said when most of the senior judges
felt embarrassed to hear the Bangabandhu Murder Case, the (Supreme
Judicial) Council was of the view that the judges are unwilling to
hear the case, and in so doing, avoiding their responsibility.
"I've even seen that when the hearing was about to end, the judge
going by the words of lawyers would often felt embarrassed to hear the
case without assigning any specific reason," added Latifur, also an ex-
chief adviser to caretaker government.
For 21 years the trial was barred by an executive order that was later
legalised through parliament. There is no other instance in world
history where the killers of a head of state were indemnified by law.
The infamous Indemnity Ordinance was finally scrapped in 1996, paving
the way for trial.
.
- Prev by Date: Bangladeshi Assassin Remanded By US Immigration & Customs Enforcement ..... ..... Re: indian hindoo in weapons conspiracy
- Next by Date: Bangabandhu Khaleda Zia Livid Over Indian Hindoo Agent Professor Muhammad Yunus's Nobel Win
- Previous by thread: Bangladeshi Assassin Remanded By US Immigration & Customs Enforcement ..... ..... Re: indian hindoo in weapons conspiracy
- Next by thread: Bangabandhu Khaleda Zia Livid Over Indian Hindoo Agent Professor Muhammad Yunus's Nobel Win
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
|
