Barrister Mainul Hosein, former adviser to a caretaker government, was released from jail today in a case filed by journalist Masuda Bhatti for defaming her in October last year.

Mainul Hosein walked out of Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj around 4:00pm, Senior Jail Super Iqbal Kabir Chowdhury told The Daily Star.  

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Tofazzal Hossain granted him bail today considering his sickness and old age after Mainul’s lawyer submitted a petition seeking bail in the case.

During today’s hearing, advocate Golam Mostafa Khan said Mainul fell sick after he was sent to jail on September 4 and he needs to be admitted into a medical for better treatment. Moreover, he had earlier gone abroad for better treatment and he is now a man of 80 years of age.

On September 3, a Dhaka court again sent Barrister Mainul Hosein to jail after Mainul through his lawyer sought bail in the case lodged by Masuda and surrendered before the court.

On October 16 last year, Mainul hurled abusive words at Masuda and called her “a person of loose moral” during a live talk show at a private television channel.

Following the incident, Masuda on October 21 filed a case with the Court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Muhammad Asaduzzaman Noor in Dhaka.

 The other case was lodged by convener of Jamalpur Jubo Mohila League Farzana Yasmin Lita with the Court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Soleiman Kabir the same day.

Both the courts in Dhaka and Jamalpur issued arrest warrants for Mainul. But the High Court, later on, that day granted him bail for five months in the two cases.

On October 23, the Detective Branch of police arrested Mainul at the capital’s Uttara in a defamation case filed against him in Rangpur. The next day, a Dhaka court sent him to jail after detectives produced him before it.

As many as 23 cases were lodged against him across the country over the incident.

On January 13, the HC granted him ad-interim bail for six months in 11 cases.

It also stayed the trial proceedings of 15 defamation cases for the next six months and issued separate rules asking the government to explain why the case proceedings against him should not be stopped.

On January 27, Mainul was released on bail after he had spent three months in jail.