SC upholds HC verdict scrapping defamation case against Yunus

The Supreme Court today upheld a High Court verdict that scrapped the proceedings of a defamation case filed in 2010 against Prof Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of the interim government.

The Appellate Division of the SC dismissed a leave to appeal petition filed by the state challenging the HC judgement.

A three-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury delivered the order after holding hearing of the petition.

Advocate Nazrul Islam Chunnu, a lawyer from Mymensingh, filed the defamation suit in 2010 against Yunus, for one of his interviews to the AFP in 2007.

The HC on October 24, last year, dismissed the case, citing that Chunnu was neither named in the interview nor directly affected by the statement.

The state then filed the leave to appeal petition with the Appellate Division challenging the HC judgement.

Additional Attorney General Aneek R Haque appeared for the state while Advocate on Record Md Taufique Hossain stood for Yunus.