Qamrul, Mozammel attend cabinet meeting

The two ministers who were found guilty of passing contemptuous comments against the chief justice attended today’s regular cabinet meeting.

Food Minister Qamrul Islam and Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq appeared depressed, several participants told The Daily Star seeking anonymity.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting.

The Supreme Court yesterday convicted Food Minister Qamrul Islam and Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq and fined them Tk 50,000 each for committing contempt of court by making contemptuous and derogatory comments about Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha.

This was the first time that the SC has sentenced two sitting ministers for contempt.

READ MORE: Two ministers fined for contempt

Qamrul and Mozammel made headlines early this month, by coming down hard on the chief justice for two days in a row. They criticised the CJ, after the top judge of the country expressed dissatisfaction over the “poor performance” of the prosecutors and investigators of the war crimes tribunal in dealing with the war crimes case against Mir Quasem Ali.

Qamrul demanded formation of a new bench, keeping the chief justice out of it, for hearing Quasem's appeal afresh. Mozammel went on to say that the CJ should not be delivering the verdict in the appeal.

The verdict in Quasem's case was pending when they made the comments and the SC on March 8 sentenced the Jamaat leader to death.