Creativity and judiciary

The High Court on May15 expressed its hope that popular fiction writer Humayun Ahmed would delay the publication of his historical novel Deyal. After two chapters of the yet-to-be-published novel were carried in the literature page of the Bangla daily Prothom Alo in its May 11 issue, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam brought it to the notice of an HC bench that some information in the chapters contradicts the documents alluded to in the judgment of the Bangabandhu killing case. He specifically pointed to the characterisation of Khandker Moshtaque who has been presented in a rather innocuous light in the matter of Bangabandhu's assassination and the misrepresentation of the circumstances in which Sheikh Russell was killed.
Following his appeal, the HC also issued a suo moto rule asking the ministries of education and cultural affairs to provide the author with necessary documents related to the case so that he can put the narrative in the right perspective.
Clearly, three issues are at stake here. First, freedom of a novelist to write freely and creatively; second, accuracy of historical facts in a novel; and third, the role of the judiciary. Without in any way endorsing Humayun Ahmed's presentation of some historical characters in his novel under discussion, we'd like to state that novel writing is a creative art and a novel is a fiction which is why the author must be allowed every right and freedom to express himself in the way he/she pleases. As for accuracy, there are numerous instances of historical novels in which the writer created his or her own version of historical characters which sometimes clearly differed from the historical texts.
As for the role of the judiciary, while paying our highest respect to this institution, we feel that its role is to establish the rule of law, protect freedom and rights of all on the basis of the law and the constitution, and ensure the highest level of justice. Its role has everything to do with the legal infrastructure of the country and ensuring rights and privileges and also punishing people who violate the law. Literature and all forms of creative art are fields where we would most humbly submit that the judiciary should not come in. While we feel that a character like Mushtaque Ahmed and his role in the assassination of Bangabandhu must be thoroughly revealed and condemned on the basis of facts, the author's right to produce fiction in total freedom must remain protected.