Misconduct With Judge: ‘A dark spot’ in the country’s legal history

Brahmanbaria District Bar Association has made "a dark spot" in the country's legal history as they have scandalised the entire lawyers' community by using force, the High Court said yesterday.

"If this situation continues, they [lawyers] will have to face consequences," warned the HC bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil, blasting the president and two other lawyers of the association for misbehaving with the judge of Nari O Shishu Nirjaton Tribunal-1 and creating chaos in the courtroom on January 2.

"Be it the president or a member of a bar, no one is above the law. We will take action if the [Bangladesh] Bar Council, the licensing authority of the country's lawyers, doesn't do anything to this effect. We learnt from the media what happened at the Brahmanbaria court.

"You are boycotting court, you do it. But the litigants are being disturbed and threatened."

The HC too can examine whether the lawyers are eligible to practice law, said the bench.

The court was holding a hearing on a contempt of court rule against Brahmanbaria District Bar Association President Md Tanbir Bhuiyan, Secretary (administration) Akkas Ali, and lawyer Zubayer Islam.

The three lawyers appeared before the bench in compliance with summons.

Supreme Court Bar Association President Md Momtaz Uddin Fakir and Secretary Md Abdun Nur Dulal, Bangladesh Bar Council Executive Member Mohammad Sayeed Ahmed Raza, and Supreme Court lawyer Shah Monjurul Hoque appeared for Tanbir, Akkas and Zubayer during the hearing. They prayed to the HC to give one month's time for placing explanations before it about the roles of their clients in connection with the incidents at the Brahmanbaria court.

They told the HC that steps were taken to settle the issues at the Brahmanbaria court and the situation improved as courts were functioning now.

The HC bench said, "You have not submitted any affidavit [explaining the conducts of the lawyers in reply to the rule]. This court had given one month's time to submit the affidavit, but you didn't do anything. The court in Brahmanbaria, which is a constitutional institution, has been kept dysfunctional for a month."

Lawyer Momtaz Uddin requested the HC to fix a date in March for further hearing on the rule.

The bench said, "A man can make mistakes. He can show arrogance for a day. But can this go on continuously?"

Momtaz Uddin said they have held meetings with the stakeholders and taken necessary steps to settle the issue.

"We have no laches. Some media published exaggerated reports," he said.

The HC bench then fixed February 26 for holding further hearing on the issue and ordered Brahmanbaria lawyers Tanbir, Akkas and Zubayer to appear before it on that day in connection with the contempt of court rule against them.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's lawyer Ashraful Hadi informed the same HC bench yesterday that the BTRC took down from social media platforms 13 videos on the incidents of lawyers' misbehaviour with a judge in a Brahmanbaria courtroom.

Eight videos were removed from Facebook and five from YouTube in compliance with the HC order, he told the HC.

On January 5, the HC bench summoned and issued contempt of court rule against Tanbir, Akkas and Zubayer for shouting and creating chaos in the courtroom of the Brahmanbaria Nari O Shishu Nirjaton Tribunal-1 and for misbehaving and scolding its judge.