The High Court on Thursday asked politicians and television talk-show hosts to be cautious while making comments on the constitution and the Supreme Court.
The bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore also rejected the petitions filed by Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia's adviser Ahmed Azam Khan, Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal leader Razequzzaman Ratan and the anchor of Ekushey Television's talk-show Ekusher Rat, Anjan Roy, seeking exemption from their personal appearance during the hearing in the rule issued suo moto.
The court posted the next hearing for October 17 and asked the three to appear again.
The court also warned the three not to make derogatory comments any further on the court and the constitution.
To a query by the court, Anjan's lawyer Rafique-ul-Huq, told the court that his client would contest the case while the lawyers for Azam and Ratan sought time to reply to the rule. Advocate Mahbub Uddin Khokan represented Azam while advocate KM Hafizur Rahman defended Ratan.
Earlier in the morning, the court, in its judgment in Islamic Oikya Jote faction chairman Fazlul Fazlul Haque Amini's matter, said it had noticed that some 'unscrupulous' politicians and parliament members were making indecent remarks on the constitution and the court.
If any member of parliament makes derogatory remarks on the constitution, he or she should resign as they are elected under the constitution, the court said in its judgment in Amini's matter. The court directed the police to report on the steps they had taken so far on the sedition case lodged against Amini for making derogatory comments on the constitution.
On August 10, the court after taking cognisance of the talk-show programme title 'Ekushey Rat' broadcast after midnight past August 9, asked Ahmed Azam Khan, Razequzzaman Ratan and Anjan Roy, to appear on August 17 to explain their conducts.
The court also asked the three to explain why they should not be tried and punished for making 'unpalatably derogatory' and aspersive the comments on two judges of the Supreme Court' in the programme.
The suo moto rule was issued on charge of questioning and scandalising the authority of the High Court, deputy attorney general ABM Altaf Hossain told reporters.
In the talk-show, the three said that the judges had written an essay on cow instead of writing an essay on river in passing the order on a petition filed against Fazlul Huq Amini.
The same bench on August 2 warned the Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, not to make indecorous comments on the constitution any further.
The court passed the order during the hearing in a writ petition filed by writer Shahriyar Kabir seeking a directive on the government to take legal action against Fazlul Haque Amini for reportedly saying in his office at Lalbagh on July 14 that the amended constitution would not just be thrown away, it would be thrown into the dustbin.
The court had passed the August 2 order amid scuffles between pro-Awami League and BNP-backed lawyers in the courtroom when the pro-BNP lawyers were opposing the pronouncement of the order insisting that the court should not pass an order against Khaleda as the petition was not filed against her.
In the talk-show, the two politicians questioned the pronouncement of the order against Khaleda during the hearing in the petition against Amini.
Source : Nge Age
