'Unwanted, unbecoming': Khokon rejects attorney general's remarks on courtroom row

A row has erupted among the country's top legal professionals as Supreme Court Bar Association President Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon took a swing at Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kajal over his remarks on Tuesday's (8 September) courtroom walkout by the Appellate Division bench, calling the comments "unwanted" and "unbecoming".

"Does the Attorney General have any role here? Who is he? His remarks are entirely irrelevant. He has no relevance to our discussions, or to our demands," Khokon said at a briefing in front of the Supreme Court annexe building today (10 September).

Responding to Kajal's account of Tuesday's courtroom exchange, Khokon said, "I am the president of the Supreme Court Bar. Lawyers have elected me to this Supreme Court 11 times. Across the Bar Council, lawyers throughout Bangladesh have elected me three times. I will speak for lawyers."

The spat erupted on Tuesday during a hearing on an appeal concerning the appointment of a nikah registrar, in which Khokon was the senior counsel for lawyer Sufia Ahmed, who was fined Tk5 lakh by the Appellate Division for concealing information in several filings.

According to Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kajal, the case stemmed from a 2013 dispute over the appointment, in which the petitioner had filed five writ petitions over the same order without disclosing an earlier rejection. The Appellate Division fined both the petitioner and his lawyer Tk5 lakh each.

Kajal said Khokon was not present when the order was passed and later, when Khokon raised the issue during a separate hearing and sought a waiver of the cost, Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury refused to reconsider the order, saying the conduct amounted to fraud on the court and had defied an earlier Appellate Division order.

Khokon, according to his own account, argued for leniency, saying lawyers were earning less because Appellate Division sittings had been reduced from three benches comprising 11 judges to a single bench, resulting in longer delays.

Kajal said Khokon then remarked on lawyers' declining income since the chief justice's appointment, prompting the chief justice to seek an explanation from him before saying the remarks amounted to contempt of court and leaving the courtroom midway through the hearing, saying he would not continue the day's proceedings.

The confrontation later spilt into parliament, with Jamaat MP Nazibur Rahman raising the issue on Wednesday. Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman said Khokon's conduct "was not correct", while describing the matter as an internal issue of the Bar Association rather than one involving a state organ.

Khokon demands action over corruption

At today's briefing, Khokon also urged Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury to free the Appellate and High Court Divisions and courts nationwide from corruption. He cited allegations of lobbying for cases, getting cases placed on cause lists and hearings, and misconduct by some judicial officers, calling for action against those facing such allegations.

"Corruption is tried at the Supreme Court. If litigants have to lobby to file cases or pay money at every stage, that is extremely unfortunate," he said.

Khokon also alleged political bias among many Supreme Court judges during the Awami League's 17-year tenure and urged that judges with questionable conduct be referred to the Supreme Judicial Council.

To reduce the case backlog, he demanded at least three Appellate Division benches, saying two could be formed with existing judges.

He also demanded removal of a slum beside the Supreme Court within a month, saying lawyers lacked adequate working space. He called for a temporary shed and a permanent Bar Association building.

He warned of further action if the demands were not met within a month, saying the Bar Association would not be responsible for lawyers' subsequent steps.

He also said lawyers would decide later what action to take over the Tk5 lakh fine imposed on the junior lawyer on Tuesday, which had not yet been withdrawn.