Staff Reporter :
The government in a letter to the Supreme Court (SC) has sought investigation into several allegations brought against the Barisal judge who had sent a civil servant to prison over defamation charge.
The Law Ministry asked the SC for steps concerning Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ali Hossain in the letter issued on Tuesday.
It said, the judges’ transfer is important for safe guarding the image of the judiciary. The term of his current post is over, it added.
“Besides, considering the current situation, it is important to investigate and establish the truth behind the incident,” the letter said.
The High Court Division’s Additional Registrar Sabbir Foyez confirmed receiving the Ministry’s letter. “The Supreme Court’s General Administration Committee will let the Law Ministry know about its decision,” he told The New Nation.
The judge recently paid Tk 93,950 to the District Administration for staying in the Circuit House for eight months and two days. The Ministry’s letter also accused him of not paying fare for travelling on Green Line buses. Judge Ali Hossain became news headlines after rejecting a bail plea filed on behalf of Barguna Upazila UNO Tariq Salmon.
While serving as the UNO at Barisal’s Agailjhara, Salmon used a drawing on Father of Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by a fifth-grader on the invitation card for Independence Day event.
Tarique Salmon, now stationed in Barguna, was sued by Barisal Bar Association President Obaidullah Saju for using the drawing, which he claimed was wrong.
On July 19, Salmon appeared in court and said in his defence that the portrait was one of the winners of an official drawing competition for school children on the occasion of the National Children’s Day.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ali Hossain rejected his bail plea and the public servant was kept in a lock-up of the court for two hours until the same judge granted him bail.
Citizens flooded social media with angry posts that included photos of Salmon being taken to jail from the court with handcuff.
Civil servants’ body, Bangladesh Administrative Service Association in a statement condemned the incident and called for actions against those involved.
A day after the court hearing, the Awami League suspended Saju, who sat on the party’s Barisal district unit body, over the lawsuit and sought his explanation.
The next day, police withdrew six of its men, including three officers, who were on duty in Barisal court that day. On Sunday, the Awami League leader dropped the charges and pleaded to the court to withdraw the lawsuit, which was granted.
The government on Monday stripped Barisal Deputy Commissioner Gazi Md Saifuzzaman and Barguna DC Bashirul Alam of official responsibilities, while the Cabinet Division has opened a probe.
The Public Administration Ministry said they have been removed as punishments for failing to perform their duties. An additional secretary-led panel will investigate whether the case against Salmon and the subsequent events breached the law, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told the media on Monday.
The government in a letter to the Supreme Court (SC) has sought investigation into several allegations brought against the Barisal judge who had sent a civil servant to prison over defamation charge.
The Law Ministry asked the SC for steps concerning Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ali Hossain in the letter issued on Tuesday.
It said, the judges’ transfer is important for safe guarding the image of the judiciary. The term of his current post is over, it added.
“Besides, considering the current situation, it is important to investigate and establish the truth behind the incident,” the letter said.
The High Court Division’s Additional Registrar Sabbir Foyez confirmed receiving the Ministry’s letter. “The Supreme Court’s General Administration Committee will let the Law Ministry know about its decision,” he told The New Nation.
The judge recently paid Tk 93,950 to the District Administration for staying in the Circuit House for eight months and two days. The Ministry’s letter also accused him of not paying fare for travelling on Green Line buses. Judge Ali Hossain became news headlines after rejecting a bail plea filed on behalf of Barguna Upazila UNO Tariq Salmon.
While serving as the UNO at Barisal’s Agailjhara, Salmon used a drawing on Father of Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by a fifth-grader on the invitation card for Independence Day event.
Tarique Salmon, now stationed in Barguna, was sued by Barisal Bar Association President Obaidullah Saju for using the drawing, which he claimed was wrong.
On July 19, Salmon appeared in court and said in his defence that the portrait was one of the winners of an official drawing competition for school children on the occasion of the National Children’s Day.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ali Hossain rejected his bail plea and the public servant was kept in a lock-up of the court for two hours until the same judge granted him bail.
Citizens flooded social media with angry posts that included photos of Salmon being taken to jail from the court with handcuff.
Civil servants’ body, Bangladesh Administrative Service Association in a statement condemned the incident and called for actions against those involved.
A day after the court hearing, the Awami League suspended Saju, who sat on the party’s Barisal district unit body, over the lawsuit and sought his explanation.
The next day, police withdrew six of its men, including three officers, who were on duty in Barisal court that day. On Sunday, the Awami League leader dropped the charges and pleaded to the court to withdraw the lawsuit, which was granted.
The government on Monday stripped Barisal Deputy Commissioner Gazi Md Saifuzzaman and Barguna DC Bashirul Alam of official responsibilities, while the Cabinet Division has opened a probe.
The Public Administration Ministry said they have been removed as punishments for failing to perform their duties. An additional secretary-led panel will investigate whether the case against Salmon and the subsequent events breached the law, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told the media on Monday.
