Khandaker Mahbbub no more

Eminent jurist and former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Khandaker Mahbbub Hossain passed away at a hospital in Dhaka last night.

He was 84.

Mahbub, also a vice-chairman of the BNP, breathed his last at 10:40pm while undergoing treatment at the Evercare Hospital.

Mahbub was on life support at the hospital since Wednesday.

He had been suffering from different health complications. Mahbub left behind his wife, two sons, a daughter and a host of admirers to mourn his death.

Khandaker Mahbub was born on March 20, 1938, in Barguna's Bamna village. His father Khandaker Abul Hasan was an educationalist. He joined the language movement as a high school student in Narayanganj.

After finishing high school, he went to Notre Dame College and then Dhaka University in 1958. He was elected the vice president of the Dhaka University Law Association in 1962. In the same year, he was arrested for violating Section 144.

He supported the freedom fighters in the Liberation War in 1971 by using his house as an armoury. He was enlisted as a lawyer of the High Court in 1967 and became the chief prosecutor to bring war criminals to justice.

Khandaker Mahbub was enlisted as a senior advocate of the Supreme Court in 1988 and became the president of the Supreme Court Lawyers' Association four times in 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2015. He became the vice chairman of the Bangladesh Bar Council in 2007 and 2012.

He was trustee board president at the Vocational Training Centre for the Blind and an advisor at "KochiKacha", an organisation for children.

He received the Jasimuddin Gold Medal in 2006, Kabi Nazrul Gold Medal in 2007, and Dr Muhammad Shahidullah Gold Medal in 2008 among other accolades.

The prominent lawyer was involved in the Ataur Mridha vs State, Shajneen murder case, Chanpa murder case, Saleha Khuki murder case, Ershad Sikder vs State, and many other important cases during his career.