The Supreme Court on Thursday sentenced Dinajpur Municipality Mayor Syed Jahangir Alam to one month in jail and fined him Tk1 lakh for making derogatory comments about one of its judges for giving a verdict against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
A five-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan delivered the verdict following a contempt of court petition filed by four lawyers seeking necessary directives.
The court ordered Jahangir to surrender before the lower court concerned of Dinajpur in a week.
Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kajal stood for the Dinajpur mayor in the court.
Advocate Shah Manjurul Haque appeared for the petitioners, and Attorney General AM Amin Uddin represented the state.
However, the mayor said that a review will be filed against this verdict.
On August 18, the Appellate Division issued a contempt of court notice against Jahangir asking him to explain why he should not be punished for his remarks.
Later on August 24, he sought an unconditional apology from the Appellate Division.
That day, the court fixed October 12 for the next hearing.
Syed Jahangir Alam made comments on a YouTube channel about Justice M Enayetur Rahim, a judge of the Appellate Division, owing to a judgement in a case against BNP chief Khaleda Zia.
After that, four lawyers -- Mohammad Harun-Or-Rashid, Mahfuzur Rahman Roman, Md Moniruzzaman Rana and Shafique Raihan Shawon -- submitted a petition.
The Supreme Court also directed the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission chairman to immediately remove the video containing Jahangir's comments.