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Published : 06 Mar 2016, 06:15 PM
He asked them to have patience before the verdict on the appeal was delivered.
"Many things were said during the trial of Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, much gossip was doing the rounds. But you’ve seen what judgment was handed down to him ...
"So, please wait and keep faith in the judiciary, which is one of the key pillars of the State. It’s best for all that the judiciary is not thrown into controversy," Alam said.
An Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha is scheduled to deliver the verdict on Jamaat-e-Islami leader Ali's appeal against his death sentence on Mar 8.
Food Minister Qamrul Islam on Saturday demanded that a new bench, excluding Justice Sinha, hear the appeal as the chief justice, in Islam’s words, had "brought allegations against the state and the government by reprimanding the prosecution".
Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq also spoke on the issue at the same programme where Islam made his comments.
Attorney General Alam said on Sunday that 'making the chief justice controversial means making the judiciary controversial'.
He warned that such comments would also make the war crimes trials questionable.
"The appeals are not heard by a single judge in our apex court. The decision is taken democratically on the basis of everyone's opinion," Alam said.
"Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha delivered the verdict of the first war crimes case of Quader Molla. The verdict outlined the war crimes trials and their standard. The chief justice also delivered several other verdicts, such as those of Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury or Delwar Hossain Sayedee."
"So, we'll have to observe what verdicts he has delivered earlier. His conversations with lawyers cannot be matters for discussion in the media or at public meetings," he said.
He urged all to have patience and refrain from making 'such comments' over the judiciary and the chief justice.
"Such comments will hamper justice and the successfully disposed of war crimes cases will become questionable," he said.
Alam said such comments on the chief justice were unconstitutional.
Minister Islam also demanded exclusion of Alam from the hearing of death-row war criminal Ali's appeal hearing.
In his reaction to this demand, Alam said, "My skills and sincerity as a lawyer and an attorney general have been mentioned in the verdict on Sayedee.
"I think the verdict was a great achievement for me as a lawyer. So, it will be meaningless to speak on others' comments," he added.
