The High Court yesterday ordered the returning officer of Kishoreganj-2 constituency to receive and scrutinise the nomination paper of Tarek Mohammad Shahidul Islam, a National People's Party (NPP) nominated aspirant, in the next 24 hours.
The bench of Justice Tariq ul Hakim and Justice Md Shohrowardi passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed by Tarek, seeking necessary orders so that he can contest the 11th national election slated for December 30.
Citing the writ petition, Deputy Attorney General Amatul Karim Swapna said Tarek went to submit his nomination paper on November 28. The returning officer refused to accept it citing that the NPP leader was late for submission.
The government will move a petition before the apex court, seeking stay on the HC order, the DAG said.
Barrister Md Mutaher Hossain appeared for Tarek Mohammad.
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BNP candidates for Manikganj-1 Khondaker Akter Hamid Dablu allegedly came under attack today.
Dablu claimed that criminals fired gunshots at his car twice in Ghior upazila town and Mohadevpur area of Shivalaua upzila while he was returning home from Daulatpur upazila nirbahi officer’s office this afternoon.
However, the two bullets missed his car, he said adding that he informed Manikganj police superintendent about the attacks.
Contacted, Rifat Rahman Shamim, superintendent of police in Manikganj, said that after investigation, police couldn't find any evidence of such incident.
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The High Court yesterday said the Prothom Alo has the right to get justice because it had corrected the mistake it made in an online report on March 26.
"Everybody has the right to get protection of law. The complainant could have gone to Bangladesh Press Council if he was aggrieved by the report.
"As far as we know, Prothom Alo publishes objective reports. They have a slogan -- in search of truth. They are a pioneer in news publishing. But how will it work if you publish this kind of news?" asked the court referring to the March 26 report.
The bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Md Aminul Islam made the observations while hearing a petition filed by Prothom Alo Editor and Publisher Matiur Rahman seeking bail in a case filed under the Digital Security Act.
The bench granted him anticipatory bail for six weeks and asked him to show up at the metropolitan sessions judge's court in Dhaka after six weeks and seek fresh bail.
The courtroom was packed with lawyers and journalists.
Matiur appeared virtually before the bench from the Supreme Court premises during the hearing.
Lawyers Fida M Kamal, ZI Khan Panna, Imtiaz Mahmood, Syeda Rizwana Hasan and Prashanta Kumar Karmoker appeared for Matiur while Additional Attorney General Mohammad Mehedi Hassan Chowdhury and Deputy Attorney General Sujit Chatterjee Bappi opposed the bail petition.
Matiur, Prothom Alo staff reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams, an unnamed photographer, and unnamed others were sued over a report published on March 26, the Independence Day.
As far as we know, Prothom Alo publishes objective reports. They have a slogan -- in search of truth. They are a pioneer in news publishing. But how will it work if you publish this kind of news?
— A High Court bench while hearing the Prothom Alo editor's petition for bail.
While posting the said report written by Shams on social media, Prothom Alo made a "card" with a quote of a labourer named Zakir Hossain. Though the card contained Zakir's quote, it had the photo of an adolescent boy taken from behind.
It was noticed within 17 minutes, and the card was removed. Besides, corrections were made to the report and the news was again published online mentioning the corrections.
Around 4:00am on March 29, Shams was picked up from his home in Savar by plainclothes men claiming to be CID officers. His whereabouts were unknown until he was taken to a Dhaka court around 30 hours later. The court later sent him to jail.
At yesterday's hearing, Fida M Kamal told the court that a lawyer filed the case against Matiur and several others under sections 25, 31 and 35 of the DSA. But there is no element of offences in the report as per these sections.
The sections have been abused through filing of the case, he said, adding that the case was filed in order to harass the Prothom Alo editor and its journalists. A reporter of Ekattor TV has complicated matters by making a report regarding the Prothom Alo report.
The complainant, Abdul Malek Mashiur Malek, said in the case that he remembered the photo of a woman named Basanti in a net published in 1974, Fida told the court.
He then asked how the complainant, who is now 61, could remember the picture after so many years.
Mashiur wrote in the complaint that in 1974, a mentally challenged woman named Basanti was made to wear a net, and a photo of the woman in that state was published in a newspaper spreading panic over famine.
Fida said the mistake, made by Prothom Alo, was noticed within 17 minutes, and corrections were made.
"How did the Prothom Alo report damage the spirit of independence?" he asked.
Presenting his arguments, ZI Khan Panna said Matiur is a freedom fighter, a progressive man, and a former member of the Communist Party, who was also the editor of an esteemed weekly named Ekota.
Justice Mustafa Zaman said, "We used to read the Ekota."
Additional AG Mehedi Hassan Chowdhury then argued that Prothom Alo published the false report with a quote of a child who was given Tk 10 to give the quote on Independence Day.
Another journalist of Ekattor TV discovered the falsehood of Prothom Alo, he said, adding that the Prothom Alo report carried a questionable message.
DAG Sujit Chatterjee told the court that editors like Matiur Rahman, Mahfuz Anam, and Anwar Hossain Manju are institutions in their own right.
"I also read Prothom Alo which is a non-communal newspaper. This is a pro-independence daily.
"But Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman has picked the Independence Day to publish such an irresponsible report in order to tarnish the image of the state and the government and to destabilise the country when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is taking the nation forward amid the fallout from Ukraine war," he said.
Prothom Alo has admitted its offence, he said, adding that the newspaper is used as a shield.
At one stage of the hearing, the HC bench said his (Matiur) own image was damaged as well.
Additional AG Mehedi Hassan Chowdhury told the court that the government has not brought any allegation against Prothom Alo.
Making a mistake and then withdrawing the false report is like returning the money after picking someone's pocket, Mehedi said.
Justice Mustafa Zaman then told him that Prothom Alo withdrew the report after noticing the mistake.
Contacted, Additional AG Mehedi told The Daily Star that he is yet to get any instructions from the government to move an appeal before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court against the HC order of bail.
Matiur's lawyer ZI Khan Panna told reporters that a lawyer has filed the case against his client after being personally aggrieved, but the state's additional attorney general and deputy attorney general appeared for the complainant, which is unlawful.
Earlier in the day, another HC bench led by Justice SM Kuddus Zaman refused to hear the bail petition.
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The High Court today directed the authorities concerned to conduct inquiry into allegations against S Alam Group owner Mohammad Saiful Alam of amassing huge amounts of properties abroad, including a business empire worth about $1 billion in Singapore, without permission from Bangladesh Bank.
The Anti-Corruption Commission, Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police have been directed to conduct the inquiry and submit reports to the HC in two months, Deputy Attorney General Saifuddin Khaled told The Daily Star.
The court also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned of the government to explain why their failure to prevent the alleged activities of the S Alam Group owner should not be declared illegal.
The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat Lizu issued the order and rule on a suo motu (voluntary) move following a report published on The Daily Star on August 4 under the headline "S Alam's Aladdin's Lamp".
Supreme Court lawyer Syed Sayedul Haque Suman placed the newspaper report before the HC bench seeking necessary directives.
The HC asked The Daily Star to submit the documents based on which the report was prepared to this court in two months.
According to the DS's investigative report, S Alam Group owner Saiful Alam has built a business empire in Singapore worth at least about $1 billion, although there is no record of him taking any permission from Bangladesh Bank to invest or transfer any funds abroad.
The Bangladesh central bank has so far allowed 17 companies to invest outside the country, and this Chattogram-based business giant is not on that list.
Yet in Singapore, Alam bought at least two hotels, two homes, one retail space, and other properties over the last one decade, all the while seeking to remove his name from the paper trails, documents cited by the report show.
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The Daily Star's Sohel Parvez and Jahurul Islam Sojol with the help of a few others have made an effort to analyse the affidavits submitted by the candidates, running in the 11th parliamentary polls, to the Election Commission. Today we are publishing the data of gross wealth of those who were made ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers (excluding three technocrat ministers). The gross wealth of them and their spouses and other dependents was calculated based on the value of their movable and immovable properties mentioned in the affidavits.
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The High Court today in a verdict ruled that educational institutions cannot compel any admission seeker to disclose their marital status for admissions.
The HC bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Md Khairul Alam delivered the verdict after hearing on a rule that in December 2017 questioned the legality of educational institutions seeking information on marital status of admission seekers.
Deputy Attorney General Amit Das Gupta, who represented the state, told The Daily Star that following the HC judgement, no student can be forced to disclose their marital status for his or her admission in any institution across the country.
The HC also declared illegal Rajshahi Government Nursing College's action of asking a rape victim to write that she was abandoned by her husband in the admission form, he said.
The deputy attorney general said details based on which the HC delivered the judgement can be known when the full text is released.
Following a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Fahriya Ferdous, the HC on December 11, 2017 issued the rule questioning the legality of the educational institutions' action seeking information on marital status of admission seekers.
The court in the rule asked authorities concerned of the government to explain why this should not be declared unconstitutional.
ইসরায়েলি সেনারা নিয়মিত ত্রাণ কেন্দ্রের কাছে ফিলিস্তিনিদের ওপর গুলি চালিয়ে আসছে। এখন পর্যন্তে সেখানে ৫৮০ জনেরও বেশি মানুষকে হত্যা করা হয়েছে এবং চার হাজারেরও বেশি আহত হয়েছেন।
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