Bangabandhu underestimated in 16th amendment verdict: Attorney general 

Bangabandhu has been 'undermined' in the Supreme Court verdict on the 16th constitutional amendment, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam has said.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 12 August 2017, 06:05 PM
Updated : 12 August 2017, 06:05 PM

The chief law officer of the state also hopes that these parts will be dropped from the verdict.

"There is a slang expression in Bangla: 'I will make you forget your father's name'. That's what was tried through this verdict. It was an outrageous act. This will be removed from the verdict some day," Mahbubey Alam told reporters who asked his reaction to the verdict on Saturday.

The Appellate Division on Aug 1 released the full verdict that declared the 16th amendment illegal, reviving the Supreme Judicial Council provision to impeach top court judges on the grounds of incompetency.

The 799-page verdict, especially some observations by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, has sparked a huge debate.

The ruling Awami League, which had passed the amendment to take back parliament's powers to remove judges, condemned the judgement while the BNP welcomed it, terming it 'historic'.

During a media conference of the Supreme Court Bar Association on the verdict last week, lawyers backed by the rival parties created a hullaballoo.

On Friday, the pro-BNP lawyers' organisation called protest programmes against criticism of the verdict.

The pro-Awami League lawyers' body also called programmes on Saturday morning in protest against the observations made by Justice Sinha.

Later in the day, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said the view on Liberation War expressed in the judgement "is haunting the conscience of the people across the country"

"The court said the Liberation War did not happen because of one man's effort. This is an unnecessary discussion in the verdict. Bangabandhu has been underestimated," he added.

"This is a fact that the Liberation War was designed and planned on Father of the Nation Bangabandhu's vision. He showed us how to dream. He named the country, Bangladesh."  

"All the political activities of the country were conducted in his name. But the verdict said the Liberation War is not the result of a single person's efforts. This has hit the conscience of everyone," the attorney general said.    

Asked about the government's next step on the verdict, Mahbubey Alam said the government was yet to make any decision.

Law Minister Anisul Huq said last week the government would move to have 'unacceptable and offensive' statements in the verdict scrapped. The final decision on filing a petition to review the verdict was not taken by the time, he added.