The High Court on Wednesday summarily rejected the petitions filed by 12 Supreme Court lawyers seeking bail in the case of scuffles between two groups of lawyers.
The lawyers sought bail in a case filed with Shahbagh police on August 2 accusing them and other colleagues of assaulting the police and obstructing them in their duty in a courtroom of the Supreme Court on the day during scuffles between two groups of lawyers, one loyal to the ruling Awami League and the other to the opposition BNP.
A bench of Justice Mohammad Anwarul Haque and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque rejected the petitions on the ground that no accused could seek anticipatory bail without appearing before the court.
The court in its order also showed the lawyers as 'fugitives' but later agreed to expunge the term 'fugitives' from the final order as their counsels raised objection.
The court also turned down the plea of senior lawyer Moudud Ahmed and Supreme Court Bar Association president Khandker Mahbub Hossain and secretary M Bodruddoza for treating the petitions as 'not pressed'.
The court told the defence counsels that it had to reject the petition of the 12 accused lawyers considering the prestige of the judges and the Supreme Court.
On August 3, 13 lawyers filed the bail petitions and the matter was transferred to the bench on August 4 following the chief justice's order as another bench felt embarrassed to hear the petitions.
Later, attorney general Mahbubey Alam told reporters, 'the accused lawyers now have no way but to surrender before the trial court.'
Bodruddoza, however, told reporters, 'We can move the bail petitions in another High Court bench as the court on Wednesday assured us of changing the order.'
On August 7, the bench led by Justice Anwarul Haque heard bail petitions in presence of the accused lawyers, and wished to pass the order on the day but the court keep the order pending for a day as Khandker Mahbub sought time to settle the matter out-of-the court.
On the following day, Bodruddoza sought time for settling the matter between the senior lawyers of the two sides.
Later, the SCBA president and the secretary invited senior lawyers of the bar on the two sides, including attorney general Mahbubey Alam to settle the issue through discussion.
But the pro ruling party lawyers abstained.
Mahbubey Alam told reporters that there could be no compromise with the lawyers who showed disrespect to judges by throwing a plastic substance at them.
On Tuesday, the SCBA leaders met the chief justice, Md Muzammel Hossain, and requested him to call senior lawyers on the two sides to settle the issue.
But the chief justice did not respond, said the SCBA president.
On August 2, Detective Branch inspector Soliman Hossain filed the first case accusing 14 lawyers of assaulting the police and obstructing them in the discharge of their duty inside in the courtroom of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore during a scuffle between lawyers loyal to the ruling Awami League and the opposition BNP.
On August 3, the High Court bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore banned the 13 lawyers from practising in any court after the lawyers of the two groups scuffled on August 2 in the courtroom over the bench warning the leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia not to make indecorous remarks about the constitution.
The High Court, after hearing a verbal prayer from deputy attorney general ABM Altaf Hossain, also issued a rule suo moto on the Bangladesh Bar Council and the 13 lawyers to explain in 10 days why their certificates of enrolment should not be cancelled.
On August 4, the Detective Branch of police arrested three Supreme Court lawyers including, BNP lawmaker Syeda Asifa Ashrafi Papia, Gazi Towhidul Islam and Abu Bakar Siddique, within hours of a High Court judge had felt embarrassed to hear the petitions filed by 14 lawyers.
Bakar was arrested on suspicion that he was involved in the scuffle.
The 14 lawyers made accused in the case are Papia, Towhid, Kazi Kamrul Islam Sajal, Shahiduzzaman, Mirza Al Mahmud, Sharif Uddin Ahmed, Abdullah Al Mahbub, Mahmudul Arefin Swapan, M U Ahmed, Mohammad Ali, Ashrafuzzaman Khan, Rezwan Ahmed and Khristan Nabi and Golam Mohammad Chowdhury Alam.
Sajal, Ali, Mirza, Ashrafuzzaman, Mahbub, Anamul and Swapan were also made accused in a second case filed by police sub inspector MA Jalil, against nine lawyers stating that the accused along with seven or eight other lawyers had assaulted him and obstructed him from performing his duty on August 4, after he had gone to the Supreme Court Bar Association Building at about 3.30 Pm in plain clothes to investigate the case filed on August 2 against 14 lawyers.
Waliur Rahman Khan and Golam Mohammad Chowdhury Alam were implicated in the second case.
Among the accused, Wali had withdrawn his bail petition Wednesday morning while Amamul Hossain fell sick during the hearing.
Source : New Age
