The incident of attempting to beat former environment and forest minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury and throwing eggs at him on the premises of chief metropolitan magistrate (CMM) court in Dhaka last Monday is very alarming and condemnable. Filing a case against someone does not prove that the person is a criminal. It is the responsibility of the court, not of any lawyer or political party leader, to find out whether the accused is a criminal.
According to a Prothom Alo report, Saber Hossain Chowdhury was produced before the Dhaka CMM court under strict police security after 2:00 pm on Monday. At that time, a group of people started chanting slogans on the court premises demanding his punishment. When Saber Hossain Chowdhury was being taken to the courtroom from the lock-up under police escort, some people threw eggs at him around 3:00 pm. Saber was not injured as he was wearing a police helmet and a bulletproof vest.
Earlier in August, former law minister Anisul Huq, former prime minister’s industry and investment affairs adviser Salman F Rahman, former education minister Dipu Moni were harassed on the court premises in Dhaka. Former information minister Hasanul Haque Inu and a few others also were physically harassed.
Police arrested the former MP of Dhaka-9 Constituency, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, from his Gulshan residence in Dhaka Sunday. Later, he was shown arrested in a case filed at Paltan police station over the murder of BNP activist Makbul.
Lawyer Omar Farooq Farooqui, who assisted the state at the court, argued in favour of granting 10-day remand of Saber Hossain Chowdhury. On the other hand, lawyer Ehsanul Haque Samaji argued in favour of rejecting the plea to grant the remand of the Awami League leader.
After hearing both sides, the court granted Saber Hossain Chowdhury a five-day remand in this case. The police took him into custody and interrogated him. On Tuesday afternoon, they produced him in court and stated that he was unwell. Following the hearing the court granted bail to Saber Hossain Chowdhury in six separate cases.
The security of an accused in the court premises is the responsibility of law enforcement. However, the question arises: have those in charge fulfilled their responsibilities? Due to their failure, incidents of public violence continue to occur in the court premises.
Earlier, on 6 October, former prime minister’s principal secretary Abul Kalam Azad was produced before the court. During that time, pro-BNP lawyers repeatedly interrupted the defence lawyer while he was speaking. Additional chief metropolitan magistrate Ziadur Rahman instructed them to refrain from such behaviour, emphasising that they were dressed as lawyers.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury is known as a clean leader within the Awami League. There is no evidence linking him to political violence or terrorism. Still, during the previous BNP government, a case was filed against him for allegedly stealing plates from a ferry.
The behaviour of any lawyer or political leader in the court arena does not align with the promise of the interim government to establish democracy and justice. We appeal to the government to take strong action against those who disrupt order. While anyone who breaks the law should be judged, no one should be allowed to take the law into their own hands in the name of justice.