Fire the minister
Supreme Court Bar Association leaders yesterday demanded that the prime minister immediately fire the minister who called a High Court judge to influence the outcome of a case.
Addressing a press conference at the SCBA auditorium, they urged the chief justice to instruct the Supreme Court registrar to file two cases against the minister concerned in connection with the criminal offence related to the phone call and contempt of court.
According to the statement of the case in question, Barendra International Company received Tk 70 lakh loan from Jamuna Bank Ltd with a piece of land, worth Tk 4 crore, as collateral. When the company failed to pay up Tk 84 lakh, including the interest, the bank sold the land for Tk 1.2 crore.
The company filed a case with the High Court against the bank's steps.
On February 3, Asaduzzaman, a lawyer for MM Mumit, who owns Barendra, told reporters that the bench of Justice Sharif Uddin Chaklader and Justice AKM Shahidul Huq sent the case to Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain for an “appropriate order”.
He said, “During the hearing a judge said, 'One of the ministers has called one of us for a party of the case. Therefore, we are not inclined to hear the matter. Let this matter be placed before the chief justice for an appropriate order'.”
The Daily Star could not independently verify the High Court bench's order as its copy was not available.
Following media reports regarding a minister's call to a judge to influence a case, the SCBA leaders yesterday held the press conference and protested and condemned the incident.
SCBA Secretary AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon told reporters that Justice Sharif Uddin Chaklader and Justice AKM Shahidul Huq felt embarrassed about hearing the bank-loan related case.
He said the incident of a minister calling about an ongoing case has justified the SCBA's long-time demand for stopping government interference in the judiciary.
Yesterday morning, the HC bench led by Justice Sharif Uddin Chaklader officially sent the bank-loan related case to the chief justice.
Kabir Ahmed, a secretary to the chief justice, told The Daily Star that he received the case papers and had placed them before the chief justice for his consideration.
He said he did not know what the High Court judges had written in the forwarding letter.
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