An annoyed judge of the Supreme Court yesterday said two judges of a High Court bench should be put on trial for granting bail to two identified notorious Islamist militants in July.
Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik made the unprecedented observation yesterday when the four-member Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, was hearing arguments of appeals against the bail orders of the High Court bench in two separate cases.
The apex court eventually cancelled the HC bail orders and asked the militants to surrender.
On July 8, an HC bench of Justice Borhanuddin and Justice KM Kamrul Kader granted bail to Abu Sayeed, a member of banned militant outfit Harkat-ul-Jiahd-al Islami (Huji), who was accused in a case filed in connection with an attempt on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s life by exploding bombs in Sylhet in 2001.
Abu Sayeed was in jail and confessed to his crime by giving a judicial statement. The case has been pending with a trial court in Sylhet. He was freed on the bail granted by the HC bench.
The explosion took place at night on September 26, 2001 in Sylhet’s Fazil Chist area when several youths were making bombs – hours ahead of a pre-poll rally of Awami League President Sheikh Hasina at the Alia Madrasa ground. The Fazil Chist area is 2km off the venue.
Two of the bomb-makers were killed in the incident.
The day after Sayeed had been granted bail, the same HC bench granted bail to another militant Mainuddin alias Moiz, a member of another banned outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). He was convicted and awarded 15 years in jail and his appeal against the trial court verdict had been pending with the HC.
When Moiz was granted bail, he had already been in jail for five and a half years in a criminal case, but was freed thereafter.
At the hearing on the appeals against the HC bail orders yesterday, Justice Shamsuddin expressed disappointment after learning the background of the cases against the militants.
Justice Shamsuddin said: “They [the HC judges] have no commitment to the state or to the society. These judges themselves should be put on trial if they do not hesitate to grant bail to people who had attempted to kill the prime minister and other VIPs.
“How can they remain totally oblivious to the fact that only the other day, some JMB militants were picked up in India’s West Bengal for trying to make explosive weapons to kill VVIPs in Bangladesh and create a reign of terror.”
In the Sylhet blast case, three accused – Huji leader Mufti Abdul Hannan, Maulana Abu Sayeed and Shakil Ahmed alias Sumon – gave confessional statements before magistrates.
Abu Sayeed admitted that he and his accomplices got training from Taliban in Afghanistan and had been planning to kill Sheikh Hasina, the case statement reads.
