CJ’s house-arrest claim a blatant lie, says AG

Mentioning Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha’s recent visits to the Dhakeshwari Temple and Australian High Commission in Dhaka, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam on Friday said those who have claimed that the former was under house arrest were lying. “They are spreading lies. There should be a limit,” he told reporters at Ghoradour in Munshiganj’s Louhajang upazila, reports UNB. Last Tuesday, Justice Sinha’s one-month leave of absence on health grounds until November 1 had begun, sparking numerous controversial responses from various quarters and one of them was that he was under house arrest. The attorney general on Thursday had also defended the chief justice’s rumoured decision to travel abroad during the leave, describing it as a “personal matter”. Justice Sinha was widely criticised by government ministers and ruling Awami League leaders for his observations made in the verdict that scrapped the 16th Amendment to the Constitution. Meanwhile, Prime Minister’s International Affairs Adviser Gowher Rizvi called on the chief justice at his official residence in Dhaka on Friday morning, said intelligence sources. Supreme Court Registrar General Aminul Islam and Supreme Court Additional Registrar (Judicial and Administration) Sabbir Faiz also visited the house that morning. On Thursday afternoon, Supreme Court Bench Reader Mahbub Hasan had met the chief justice at his home, with what reports said were two files on two bank accounts of Justice Sinha. Law Minister Anisul Huq also visited Justice Sinha the same afternoon.

‘CJ subjected to govt’s vindictive attitude’

Meanwhile, BNP on Friday alleged that Chief Justice Sinha was subjected to the government’s vindictive attitude as the 16th Amendment verdict went against it. “The chief justice is not ill. The information about his illness is fake and false. He has become the victim of the government’s anger,” BNP’s Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi claimed at a human chain programme in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka. Senior BNP leader Moudud Ahmed also alleged that the government has tarnished the judiciary’s image by sending the chief justice on “forced leave”. “The chief justice is the symbol of justice, and the judiciary and its independence. The government has dented the dignity and image of the judiciary with what it did to him,” he said addressing a discussion later in the day. Both BNP leaders alleged that the government made Justice Sinha its target for his observations made in the verdict.

Lawyers barred from meeting CJ

Police on Friday afternoon allegedly obstructed the BNP-backed leaders of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) from going to the chief justice’s residence to see him. Talking to reporters in front of his house around 5:30pm, SCBA Vice-President Umme Kulsum Rekha claimed they were stopped by police in front of Matsya Bhaban and condemned the incident. “We had talked to the acting chief justice on Friday [Thursday] and he said that we could meet the chief justice. But we were obstructed today,” she said. Around the same time, SCBA General Secretary Mahbub Uddin Khokon had said that he and several other leaders were also starting for Justice Sinha’s home. Additional police personnel were also seen deployed around the SCBA premises and the chief justice’s house on Friday afternoon.  

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Parts of this story were first published on banglatribune.com