The full bench of the Supreme Court Appellate Division has expressed extreme disappointment with a Supreme Court lawyer for allegedly making derogatory comments about the judiciary on Facebook.
On September 27, the top court summoned Advocate Eunus Ali Akond, the lawyer concerned, and asked him to provide an explanation for the comment. On Sunday, the lawyer submitted his explanation with an unconditional apology and many parts of the explanation were discussed in a long hearing.
Newly appointed Attorney General AM Aminuddin, Bar Secretary Ruhul Kuddus Kajal, Mansurul Haque Chowdhury, Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, Abdul Matin Khasru, Zainul Abedin, AJ Mohammad Ali, and AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon joined the virtual hearing, among many other senior lawyers from the Supreme Court Bar Association
In the offending Facebook post, Eunus had allegedly criticized the judiciary for being inactive and having ulterior motives.
“It seems as if the court is off,” he had said in the post.
During Sunday’s hearing, Bar Secretary Ruhul Kuddus Kajal requested that the chief justice consider the lawyer's apology. Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain said 62 lawyers had died of Covid-19 or other causes this year while several judges have contracted Covid-19.
Quoting late Attorney General Mahbubey Alam's wife, the chief justice said: "She told me that her husband would not have died if I had not opened court. How is it that the court is off?”
He also said: “We are disposing of old cases. How is what we have done here in the interest of the government? Has the judiciary been destroyed for doing this [disposing of old cases]?”
Furthermore, the chief justice described Eunus as a “habitual contempter” as he has been forgiven and released for similar allegations on three previous occasions.
Kajal said Covid-19 poses health threats to senior members of the Bar, but others have been filing cases with the court.
Senior lawyers, Advocate Zainul Abedin and Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, requested the court to consider the unconditional apology, but also said Eunus’s explanation was not presented in the correct way.
Abdul Matin Khasru called for an investigation and said nobody has the right to undermine the dignity of the Supreme Court.
AJ Mohammad Ali requested that the court consider the apology, but he said an unconditional apology should not try to justify the offending comments.
Eunus Ali Akond applied for two days’ time to submit another petition (explanation), but the court set Monday for judgment.
On September 27, the Supreme Court suspended Advocate Eunus Ali Akond from practicing law for two weeks and asked him to explain why punitive action should not be taken against him.
An Appellate Division bench led by Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain issued the order in a virtual hearing. The Appellate Division also ordered the Bangladesh Telephone Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to remove the derogatory post and block the lawyer’s Facebook account.
In another incident on August 12, the Supreme Court had summoned lawyer Syed Mamun Mahbub for posting derogatory comments about the chief justice on Facebook.
Later, the lawyer appeared before the court with an unconditional apology.