HC stays defamation proceedings against AK Khandker

The High Court has stayed the proceedings of a defamation case against former planning minister Air Vice-Marshal (retd) AK Khandker.

The case was filed for his statement in his book "1971: Bhetore Baire" that some members of Mujib Bahini, a Liberation War force, were involved in looting after the country's independence and most of them were not found in the battle field.

MA Ihshaq Bhuiyan, a Mujib Bahini member, filed the case with a Brahmanbaria court on September 10 last year.

The HC also issued a rule asking the government to explain why the proceedings of the case should not be quashed. 

The bench of Justice Md Nizamul Huq and Justice Khizir Ahmed Choudhury came up with the order and rule on Tuesday after hearing a petition filed by AK Khandker, who was the deputy chief of staff of Bangladesh Armed Forces in 1971.

The petitioner's lawyer, Subrata Chowdhury, told The Daily Star that the HC passed the order on his arguments that there was no defamatory statement in that book, and the book also did not say anything about MA Ihshaq Bhuiyan, who filed the case.

Earlier on July 29, another HC bench, of Justice Quamrul Islam Siddique and Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore, refused to hear the petition of AK Khandker after going through the case statements.