Dr Kamal Hossain calls attorney general 'bastard' at chief justice's court

Senior lawyer Dr Kamal Hossain ‎has called Attorney General Mahbubey Alam names at a hearing at the court of the chief justice.

He called the state's chief law officer 'bastard' while the court on Wednesday was hearing a case involving 138 doctors who were recruited at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.

The BSMMU questioned the legality of the 'appointments' and the State is arguing for the university.

Barrister M Amir-Ul Islam and ‎Kamrul Haque Siddique also took part in the argument for the doctors. They were assisted by advocates Sharif Bhuiyan and Tamim Hussain Shawon.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and Barrister Tanzibul-ul-Alam made the case for the BSMMU.

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After the attorney general put up his argument, Dr Kamal stood up and said, "There were syndicated appointment during that time (BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami government). Now they are taking a stand against it. These are intellectual prostitution."

Mahbubey Alam objected to the choice of diction but Dr Kamal retorted saying: "Shut up! Bastard! You take your seat."

"You cannot utter this word," Alam shot back.

Dr Kamal, who led the panel that drafted Bangladesh's Constitution in 1972, took his seat when Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha intervened.

"You, as a senior lawyer, should not have used such language," said Chief Justice Sinha.

Attorney General Alam asked Justice Sinha, "You (chief justice) have rather flattered him (Kamal Hossain). What would become of a senior lawyer swearing at me?”

Dr Kamal Hossain later apologised to Alam when the hearing resumed after a break.

After the hearing, the court set May 21 to deliver the verdict on the case.

Attorney General Alam has been spearheading at the Supreme Court the State's case for upholding the special tribunal's verdicts against 1971 war criminals.

Dr Kamal Hossain's son-in-law, David Bergman, is a well-known campaigner denouncing the process of war crimes trial at the International Crimes Tribunal.

On Wednesday, Dr Hossain also came under fire from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for failing to criticise the brutal murders of Bangladesh's founding father and many members of his family in 1975.

Dr Kamal Hossain, who turned 80 recently, serves on major international arbitration panels and has a reputation as one of top legal minds in the global petroleum industry.