Ousted justice joins Jamaat, sparking controversy: What were the allegations against him?

Former justice Syed Shahidur Rahman was among the 650 people from various walks of life who joined Jamaat-e-Islami last Tuesday. His decision to join the party has sparked debate, discussion and criticism on social media.

The controversy stems from the fact that Syed Shahidur Rahman was removed from office in 2004. He was the first judge in Bangladesh to be removed following an investigation by a Supreme Judicial Council formed in the country.

A Jamaat-e-Islami leader, who declined to be named, confirmed that the former justice Syed Shahidur Rahman and the person who recently joined the party are the same individual.

At a programme held on Tuesday afternoon at the Liberation War Memorial Auditorium of the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB), in Kakrail, Dhaka, 650 people from various professions and backgrounds—including leaders of different political parties, including the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party), a former justice, businesspeople and Qawmi scholars—joined Jamaat-e-Islami.

Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, along with other party leaders and activists, attended the programme.

Syed Shahidur Rahman’s name appeared in a press release issued by Jamaat. On Wednesday, Rashed Khan, political aide to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, posted about his joining on Facebook.

In a sarcastic post, Rashed Khan wrote that by joining Jamaat, Shahidur Rahman had apparently taken an initiative to cleanse himself of all the controversies surrounding his past. He thanked Jamaat for taking the initiative to rehabilitate “criminals and controversial figures” and bring them back onto the right path.

Rashed Khan further wrote that Jamaat now appeared to have introduced a “‘ticket to absolution from sins’ for criminals” like its ticket to paradise ahead of the election.

Several Jamaat leaders and officials responsible for the party’s media cell were contacted by phone and text messages for their response, but no reply was received.

The episode dates back to 1 October 2003. Barrister Rokonuddin Mahmud, then president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, accused Justice Syed Shahidur Rahman of taking money to secure bail in a case involving violence against a woman.

According to a report published by Prothom Alo at the time, Rokonuddin Mahmud told a meeting of lawyers that an additional judge of the High Court had taken Tk50,000 through a fellow additional judge in exchange for securing bail.

Subsequently, Chief Justice KM Hasan wrote to initiate the process of referring the allegation to the Supreme Judicial Council for investigation. After consulting Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, President Iajuddin Ahmed referred the matter to the Supreme Judicial Council for investigation.

On 26 January 2004, then Chief Justice KM Hasan informed the President of the findings of the Council’s investigation into justice Syed Shahidur Rahman. The following day, the President forwarded the investigation report to the Ministry of Law.

Then-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia subsequently advised the President to remove Shahidur Rahman from office in accordance with the Council’s recommendation.

Justice Syed Shahidur Rahman was removed from his position as an additional judge of the High Court Division by an order of President Iajuddin Ahmed.

A gazette notification issued on 20 April 2004 stated that President Professor Iajuddin Ahmed had removed Syed Shahidur Rahman from the post of additional judge of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court under the powers vested in him by Article 96(6) of the Constitution.

The other two members of the Judicial Council, headed by then Chief Justice KM Hasan, were Justice M Ruhul Amin and Justice Fazlul Karim.

In 2004, the BNP and Jamaat-led four-party alliance government was in power. It was this government that had appointed Syed Shahidur Rahman as a judge.

Then-Law Minister Moudud Ahmed, who has since died, was asked whether such incidents were occurring because of politically motivated judicial appointments.

Moudud Ahmed said the incident had nothing to do with politics. He pointed out that Shahidur Rahman had been appointed by his government and had also been removed during the tenure of the same government.

The day after his removal, on 21 April, Syed Shahidur Rahman held a press conference at his residence. He said that although no offence had been proved against him, he had been made a scapegoat and “hanged”. He described himself as a victim of “ugly politics”.

Justice Syed Shahidur Rahman subsequently filed a writ petition challenging the removal order, and in 2005 a High Court bench declared the order unlawful.

Idrisur Rahman, a lawyer, later appealed to the Supreme Court against the High Court’s decision. On 16 September 2015, after hearing the appeal, the Appellate Division upheld the President’s order removing Shahidur Rahman from office.

The ruling ultimately closed the door on his return to the bench.