SC exempts Zafrullah from charge
The Supreme Court yesterday exempted freedom fighter Zafrullah Chowdhury from contempt charges after he offered unconditional apology.
On June 10, the International Crimes Tribunal-2 passed an hour imprisonment on Zafrullah and fined him Tk 5,000 for criticising contempt punishment of Dhaka-based British journalist David Bergman.
The Appellate Division warned Zafrullah, founder of Gonoshasthaya Kendra, not to make any comment over the judiciary and judges in future.
A four-member bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha came up with the order after hearing a petition filed by Zafrullah challenging the ICT's ruling on him.
His lawyer Abdur Razaque Khan told The Daily Star that his client had filed the petition to have “complete justice” and also offered unconditional apology with regrets.
The SC yesterday scrapped the ICT's verdict, exercising the inherent power enshrined in the constitution, he added.
The physician does not have to pay the fine following the SC order, said Attorney General Mahbubey Alam.
He has no conviction now, since he already suffered one-hour imprisonment inside the ICT-2, he added.
Meanwhile, Barrister Sara Hossain, who was present in court during the proceedings, told The Daily Star the chief justice had clearly stated that when a stigma was on any person, he had a right to a remedy, and that the court had an inherent power to provide the remedy.
Zafrullah along with Dr MA Mobin visited the frontlines of the war of independence and treated wounded freedom fighters.
With the help of Bangladesh's government in exile, they established Bangladesh Field Hospital on the eastern border near Tripura and Comilla districts. In 1972, the field hospital was renamed Gonoshasthaya Kendra or People's Health Centre.
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