Dhaka, Sep 29 (bdnews24.com)--In an unprecedented tirade, attorney general Mahbubey Alam has accused outgoing chief justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim of trampling the constitution.
"I cannot praise the chief justice, in accordance with the tradition, during his farewell as he violated the constitution by not administering oaths to two judges.
At the same time, he created scopes for anti-liberation forces to not allow the two judges to take oath," Alam said on Wednesday.
He was speaking at the farewell of Justice Karim at the Supreme Court's Appellate Division courtroom.
"Former chief justice M Tafazzul Islam had formed a committee to probe corruptions in the Supreme Court. The outgoing chief justice did not take any action after the committee submitted their report."
"Again, he did not take steps against lawyers when they made derogatory remarks about two judges at the hearing of the writ petition on Khaleda Zia's cantonment residence, which had defamed those two judges."
Senior Appellate Division judge Karim was appointed chief justice on Feb 4 and took oath on Feb 8. Wednesday was his last working day.
Karim said, "After my takeover, I have tried to uphold the image of the Supreme Court. But there could be some mistakes, which were unintentional."
Since becoming the top judge of the country, Karim courted controversy on more than one occasions and his farewell was no exception.
However, pro-opposition Supreme Court Bar Association president Khandker Mahbub Hossain termed Justice Karim 'a pioneer in the establishment of rule and independence of the judiciary'.
Hossain also claimed that the decision to not administer oath of the two justices was 'historic'. "The faith of the countrymen in independence of the judiciary was reinstated by the decision," he said.
"Punishing the daily Amar Desh editor for contempt of court had dealt a severe blow to the freedom of speech. However, the decision regarding the publications of the daily has made us proud."
Karim, in his defence, said, "Ever since I took over as chief justice, several newspapers have published many misleading and baseless reports about me. But thinking about the office I hold, I did not protest. In the end, the dailies themselves understood their mistakes."
He also praised the role of newspapers in the development of democracy.
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