Tampering with order: HC again blasts Cox’s Bazar judge

The High Court today again rebuked Cox's Bazar District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Ismail for tampering with his own order regarding granting bail to nine accused of a criminal case.

He has not only made a mistake but also committed a crime by doing so, the HC said, referring to his crossing out of words from his earlier order after the HC issued a summons order against him.

"You have struck down your own order. You have done another injustice to cover an injustice and you did not hesitate to do it," the HC bench of Justice Md Habibul Gani and Justice Ahmed Sohel told Ismail during hearing of a criminal revision petition.

The HC yesterday (on Wednesday) accused the judge of "creating anarchy in the judiciary" by granting bail to the accused without maintaining relevant procedures.

According to the criminal revision petition filed by Khodesta Begum Rina, chairman of Dakkhin Mithachhori union in Cox's Bazar, District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Ismail granted bail to the accused on May 21, the same day the chief judicial magistrate's (CJM) court of Cox's Bazar rejected their bail petition.

The bail order was issued violating several laws, the petition added.

Moreover, the petitioner's lawyer ABM Altaf Hossain told The Daily Star that Judge Ismail has crossed out the words "Dirghosomoy Hajotbas (longtime in custody)" from his bail order once after the HC on June 21 issued the summons order against him.

Earlier in the day, Judge Mohammad Ismail appeared before the HC bench in line with its yesterday's summons order and offered an unconditional apology for his act.

Ismail's lawyer Mohammad Sayeed Ahmed Raza offered an unconditional apology on behalf of his client and prayed to the HC to exonerate his client from the proceedings.

The HC bench said a judge must call the lawyers for both sides of a case in order to bring any change to its order.

But Judge Ismail has struck down his order just before he appeared at the HC yesterday, the bench said.

Ismail, however, told the court that he has done mistakes in respect of using two words in the bail order. "I am sorry. I apologise to you," he told the HC bench.

The bench said, "Are you trying to challenge (Khondon)? We are not seeing any repentance in you. It must come from the core of your heart".

At a stage of the hearing, Judge Ismail, who was standing in the courtroom, told the HC that he was feeling unwell.

Then, the HC allowed him to sit down and fixed July 27 for further hearing of the petition.

The criminal revision petition was filed by Khodesta Begum Rina, chairman of Dakkhin Mithachhori union in Cox's Bazar, with the HC last month challenging the bail order issued by Judge Ismail's court.

On April 5 this year, a case was filed with a court in Cox's Bazar against the 9 accused under the Law and Order Disruption (Speedy Trial) Act, 2002, on charges of attacking Khodesta Begum Rina and others in the presence of the local upazila nirbahi officer on previous enmity on February 28 when they went to Mithachori area for enquiring a land-related dispute.

Senior lawyer ABM Altaf Hossain appeared for Khodesta while Deputy Attorney General Amit Talukdar represented the state during the hearing of the petition.