The apex court of the country yesterday fined Food Minister Qamrul Islam and Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq Tk50,000 each for making contemptuous statements about the chief justice and the judiciary earlier this month.
They have been asked to pay the amount to Islamia Eye Hospital and Liver Foundation of Bangladesh within seven days, and in default they will have to carry out a seven-day jail term.
Later Mozammel said that he would file a review petition against the court order after getting a copy of the full verdict. Qamrul did not speak to the media after the order.
An eight-member bench of the Appellate Division of Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha delivered the judgement after rejecting the unconditional apology tendered by the two ministers.
The court passed the order so that nobody makes such contemptuous statements about the court in the future, it said.
Abdul Baset Majumder stood for the food minister while Barrister Rafiq-Ul Huq represented Mozammel in court. The ministers were present during the verdict.
After the court order, the two ministers’ holding their positions became the much-talked-about issue across the country. The BNP has demanded resignation of the ministers on ethical grounds.
On March 5, the two ministers at a discussion heavily criticised the chief justice after he had expressed dissatisfaction over the “poor performance” of the prosecutors and investigators of the International Crimes Tribunal in dealing with the war crimes case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali.
Qamrul demanded formation of a new bench to rehear the case, excluding the chief justice, alleging that he was talking like the defenders of the war criminals. The minister expressed doubt that the war criminal would be handed down death penalty. He also wanted the attorney general out of the hearing.
Echoing Qamrul, Mozammel said that the chief justice should not be delivering the verdict in Mir Quasem’s case. Other speakers at the discussion too criticised the chief justice.
On March 8, the Appellate Division bench upheld the death penalty of the war criminal.
Before delivering the verdict in Quasem’s case that day, the top court issued a contempt of court ruling against the ministers and ordered them to appear before it on March 15 to explain their remarks.
At a cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also slammed the two ministers in their presence and said that her government would not own such comments.
Mozammel appeared before the court and sought unconditional apology on March 15. The food minister sought more time to appear before the court through his lawyer as he was abroad on a government trip. That day the court fixed March 20 for hearing accepting the time petition.
On March 20, the two ministers appeared before the court but it did not accept the explanation of Qamrul and fixed March 24 for submission of a revised explanation. Qamrul submitted it and sought unconditional apology. He said that he had made the comment as a freedom fighter, not a minister.
On March 20, the court criticised both the ministers, saying that they not only undermined the chief justice but also trampled the entire judiciary by their comments.
The court yesterday said that it was not convinced to accept the ministers’ petitions of unconditional apology.
“The petitioners are ministers holding constitutional posts. They are bound by oath to protect the constitution. The comments they have made, the speech they have delivered undermining the highest court of the country seemed ill motivated.
“The ministers made arrogant comments and scandalised the chief justice and the judiciary,” the chief justice said, adding that he was doubtful whether they had made such comments to influence the judgement in Quasem’s appeals case.
“Interference in the judiciary is a criminal contempt and committing a contempt is a criminal offence like a robbery. And all these issues have been discussed in the verdict in the contempt case against the Daily Janakantha,” he said.
“If they [ministers] are spared, anybody can make such contemptuous statements about the court in the future. So, the court finds them guilty. But as they have sought unconditional apology, the court shows kindness while sentencing them,” the chief justice said.
The court said that the judges had discussed the case thoroughly. “The court did not draw contempt charges against all the other participants, who also made comments at the discussion. The contempt proceedings have been drawn to pass a message to the nation,” the court said.
Asked what such verdict against two ministers means, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam yesterday told reporters that the Appellate Division wanted the people to know that the court’s dignity should not be hampered by anyone.
