Lady Justice: CJ Sinha sat with lawyers before ordering 'relocation' of statue

Chief Justice SK Sinha ordered the relocation of the Lady Justice statue from the Supreme Court premises after seeking opinions from lawyers.  

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 26 May 2017, 08:20 AM
Updated : 26 May 2017, 11:29 AM

The statue near the entrance of the top court was removed on Thursday night following demands by Islamist hardliners, to which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself agreed.

Senior lawyers spoke in favour of removing the statue in a meeting with Sinha on Thursday noon, said Attorney General Mahbubey Alam.

The chief justice called lawyers to discuss a number of issues, including the relocation of the statue, said a former secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association, requesting anonymity.     

Sinha said that there has been a lot of talk about the statue and sought guidance on it, according to the lawyer.

"Everyone fell quiet.”

Then AM Amin Uddin, a Supreme Court advocate, spoke up, apparently concerned by the ongoing debate on the statue.

“Our image will be tainted if there is a fight over it in front of the High Court,” Amin Uddin was quoted by one of his colleagues as telling the chief justice at the meeting.

Mahbub Ali, another senior lawyer, then joined in and said trouble should be avoided for now.

"There are mixed reactions over this statue. So we made a request to them (chief justice and Supreme Court administration). We said the statue should not be dismantled but relocated,” Amin Uddin later told bdnews24.com.    

When asked where to relocate, he said, "They'll decide that."

Supreme Court Bar Association President Zainul Abedin, its ex-president Kamal Hossain, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam, Rokanuddin Mahmud, Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, current secretary Mahbub Uddin Khokon, former secretary AM Amin Uddin, Md Mahbub Ali and SM Rezaul Karim were at the meeting.

The lawyers were aware that the statue would be removed at night, said Amin Uddin.   
 
"There were cars here during the day. That’s why they decided to take it down at night."
 
The statue is being kept near the Annex Building, and there is a possibility that it will be set up there, said the statue's creator Mrinal Haque.
 
The image of the Lady Justice with her blindfold, balance and sword personifies the moral integrity of the judiciary. 
 
But the statue erected in December last year provoked the ire of hardliners and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who criticised Chief Justice Sinha for the decision, also because it is clad in a sari.

"Why shouldn't it be removed? Don't they see that it is no more Greek? It's half-Greek, half-Bengali. It's Greek-Bengali now. Don't they see it?" she had told an Awami League meeting.

In a move seen by some as a compromise with radical views, Hasina in April assured a delegation of Hifazat-e-Islam leaders that the statue would be taken down.    
 
The problem is the location of the statue standing next to Eidgah where Muslims congregate for prayers every year during the Eid, the largest religious festival.
 
“Not everyone's mind is the same. It will be in view during prayers,” Hasina had said.