S Alam serves legal notice on govt, four newspapers
A legal notice was served on the government, four editors of national newspapers, including The Daily Star, and seven journalists of the dailies on Thursday for reports the dailies published on Mohammad Saiful Alam and S Alam Group.
The legal notice apparently sought to restrict reporting on S Alam Group.
On behalf of the owner of the group Saiful Alam, law firm Ajmalul Hossain KC and Associates served the notices by registered post.
The notice demands that the home secretary and the information secretary collect the evidence, based on which five articles were written by the journalists, to justify the allegations made against Alam and his Group.
Until such information is provided, the notice demands, the secretaries ensure that the journalists are stopped from publishing any statements or reports about Alam and his businesses.
It also demands that the two secretaries ensure that the journalists give an undertaking that they will not repeat such actions in the future.
In addition, the notice demands that all such content preserved in any public domain be removed.
The notice was served on The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam, Executive Editor Syed Ashfaqul Haque and journalists Partha Pratim Bhattachajee and Zyma Islam for publishing two reports -- one titled "Probe S Alam Group Assets" published on December 6, 2022, and the other titled "S Alam's Aladdin's lamp" published on August 4, 2023.
The notice was served on Prothom Alo Editor and Publisher Matiur Rahman and its journalist Sanaullah Sakib for publishing a report on November 24, 2022 under the headline "Islami Bank a Bhayangkar November".
The Business Standard Chief Editor and Publisher Inam Ahmed and its reporters Jebun Nesa Alo and Sakhawat Prince were also served the notice for publishing a report headlined "How a 24-year-old greenhorn is blessed with a Tk 900cr loan" on November 27, 2022.
New Age Editor Nurul Kabir and journalist Mostafizur Rahman were served the notice, for the report published on November 30, 2022, under the headline "S Alam Group lifts Tk 30,000cr loans from IBBL alone".
"It is important for both the home secretary and information secretary performing functions in connection with the affairs of the Republic to take immediate necessary actions and fulfil their respective duties to maintain peace, protect citizens' rights, and prevent the spread of defamatory statements […]" the notice reads.
Unless the government complies with these demands before 10:00am of August 13, 2023, the Group will file a writ petition seeking punitive damages.
The High Court had on two instances issued suo moto directives based on the reports the notice sought to remove.
On August 6, 2023, the High Court bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat issued a suo moto rule ordering a probe into Alam's assets abroad. The rule came after The Daily Star published the report titled "S Alam's Aladdin's Lamp".
Earlier on December 4, 2022, the same High Court bench asked the government agencies to hold inquiries into alleged irregularities in obtaining loans from Islami Bank Limited, First Security Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, and Social Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited by S Alam Group.
This rule was passed after taking cognisance of four newspaper reports including the two by Prothom Alo and New Age.
Both the probes are being done at the moment.