2010 in review: judiciary

Dhaka, Dec 31 (bdnews24.com) – The judiciary had been in the spotlight throughout the year, handing down judgments — both distinctive and controversial.

Following are the top 10 judicial events that hit headlines in 2010:

MUJIB KILLERS HANGED

Five detained convicts, condemned to death for the killing of Bangladesh's founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, were executed in the early hours of Jan 28 at Dhaka Central Jail.

Syed Faruk Rahman, Mohiuddin Ahmed, Bazlul Huda, AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed and Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan — all five executed were former army officers.

A five-strong bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Justice Mohammed Tafazzal Islam on Nov 19 rejected the appeals against previous court sentences to hang them.

The guiding figure of Bangladesh independence, Mujib was killed along with his 16 family members, including wife and three sons, on Aug 15, 1975. His daughters, prime minister Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, escaped the assassination as both were in Europe back then.

SEVENTH AMENDMENT ANNULLED

The High Court on Aug 26 pronounced its landmark verdict declaring the controversial Seventh Amendment to the constitution illegal and called for punishment of former military dictator Hussein Muhammad Ershad.

The full judgment was released on Dec 29. The Seventh Amendment had been passed legitimising Ershad's military dictatorship.

Gen Ershad, deposed in 1990, is a major ally of the ruling alliance heading Ershad faction of Jatiya Party.

The verdict also said the despotic rule introduced by Khandker Mushtaque Ahmed and Ziaur Rahman after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975 proved to be most destructive for Bangladesh in terms of its political, economic and cultural entity.

JAIL KILLING RETRIAL

The Awami League-led grand alliance government on Nov 7 appealed to the Appellate Division for retrial of the jail killing case challenging a previous High Court verdict, alleging it had been manipulated.

The four leaders of the wartime national government — acting president Syed Nazrul Islam, prime minister Tajuddin Ahmed and cabinet ministers M Mansur Ali and AHM Qamruzzaman — were brutally killed inside Dhaka Central Jail on November 3, 1975.

The Awami League government had revived the trial of the jail killings case after it came to power in 1996. But the trial faced hiccups and the High Court, on October 20, 2004, during the tenure of the BNP-Jamaat alliance government, handed down a verdict sentencing 15 of the 20 accused.

COL TAHER MURDER CASE

The High Court on Aug 23 ordered submission of all documents relating to 1976 military trial of Col Abu Taher, a freedom fighter and sector commander during the 1971 Liberation War, upon a petition by Taher's wife and some others.

At the same time, it asked the government to show causes for not dubbing 'unconstitutional' the military law directive issued to allow the secretive military trial, the trial itself and implementation of the death sentence.

A total of 17 military personnel, including Col Taher, were sentenced in a secret military trial on July 17, 1976. He was hanged on the dawn of July 21.

TIB CONTROVERSY

Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB) had been at the heart of controversy, as its household survey report of Dec 23 marked the judiciary as the most corrupt 'service sector' in the country.

Lawyers filed five defamation suits — one in Comilla and others in Chittagong — for 'maligning' the judiciary. The Comilla court issued arrest warrants against the TIB chairman, the director and a senior TIB fellow, but later withdrew it as proper legal procedures had not been maintained.

The Supreme Court on Dec 28 asked the TIB to provide information and data it used in the survey. The court also warned of stern actions if any irregularities were found in the method it adopted in the survey.

APPOINTMENT CONTROVERSY

The judiciary faced quite a tussle over the appointment of 17 judges as the then chief justice, Fazlul Karim, declined to administer the oath of two of them — former senior leader of JSD Chhatra League Md Ruhul Kuddus Babu and deputy attorney general Muhammad Khasruzzaman.

The others took oath on Apr 18. Lawyers were strongly divided on the issue and the pro-Awami League and BNP-backed lawyers exchanged heated arguments and rallied against each other, creating chaos on the court premises.

Until recently, Babu reportedly had a murder of case against him, which were recommended for withdrawal and his name was dropped from the accused list, while Khasruzzaman had taken part in vandalism in the Supreme Court area and was said to have kicked at the door of the chief justice's office.

The two controversial judges were, however, sworn in by the new chief justice, A B M Khairul Haque, on Dec 12. During the tenure of the present government, 32 additional judges have so far been appointed in four phases.

BDR MUTINY VERDICTS

The special courts set up for trying the suspected BDR mutineers of Feb 25-26, 2009, started pronouncing verdicts in 2010.

In the first verdict involving charges linked to the BDR mutiny, the special court in Panchagarh on Apr 7 found all 29 accused in the case guilty of rebellion 'beyond reasonable doubt'.

At least 70 people, including 57 army officials deputed at the BDR headquarters at Pilkhana in Dhaka, were killed in the bloody BDR mutiny.

Some 3,500 border guards are facing trial in 40 cases countrywide over the mutiny that also spread to battalions outside Dhaka. Trial of crimes like murders and looting during the rebellion are being held under civil law.

Special tribunals in Rangamati, Satkhira, Feni, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Joypurhat and Sylhet have already handed down verdicts.

'CROSSFIRE'

The High Court on June 1, upon a public interest petition, said it will no longer tolerate deaths in custody and defiance of its orders asking to stop such murders.

The court in an order said it was under oath to safeguard people's lives in line with the constitution. It also warned authorities through the attorney general's office and other lawyers that they must stop custodial deaths. The tendency to defy court orders also has to end, it said.

According to data released by RAB — from 2003 to March 2010, 577 crossfire deaths took place in the country.

WEARING BURQA

The High Court on Aug 22 ruled a public interest petition that no woman can be forced to wear burqa (veil) at workplace and educational institutions.

The court also ordered relevant officials to explain why forcing women to wear burqa (veil) and keeping them out of sports and cultural activities will not be declared illegal.

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