Eminent jurist Dr Kamal Hossain yesterday said setting up a court inside a jail is “absurd” and “self-contradictory”, as “jail is jail and court is court”.

If anyone is aggrieved about setting up of a court inside jail, they can move to the High Court -- questioning its legality, he said, without mentioning BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia whose trial is being held at a court in old Dhaka Central Jail.

Dr Kamal, president of Gono Forum, made the comment while replying to questions at a views-exchange meeting in Dhaka.

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) organised the progamme at its auditorium, attended by its leaders, Supreme Court lawyers and reporters.

Dr Kamal said that Col Taher was tried at a court inside Dhaka Central Jail, which is not regarded as well-accepted by the public.

He also said that former chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha will be recalled for what he had done.

“Those who have insulted him will be despised forever….One day, we will try the derogatory and unconstitutional acts,” Dr Kamal said.

He said a level-playing field is needed for holding the next parliamentary election in a free and fair manner.

Replying to a query, Dr Kamal Hossain said that Jamaat-e-Islami will not be allowed to take part in the all-party unity during the upcoming parliamentary election due to its anti-Liberation War role.

Asked about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's comment, saying that Dr Kamal Hossain left the country during transitional periods, he replied that he had fought a legal battle in 2007 in order to remove 1.40 crore false voters from the voter list.

“Then the Election Commission was reformed. We fought a legal battle in order to remove the then president Iajuddin Ahmed from the post of the chief adviser of the erstwhile caretaker government. A sedition case had been lodged against four of us. So, we did not leave the country,” he said.

Kamal Hossain said the 2008 election would have not been held or the outcome of the election would have been different if the 1.40 crore false voters were not removed from the voter list.               

“The present prime minister (Hasina), when she was the opposition leader of the parliament, had placed 23 conditions in 2007 for holding the national election in a free and fair manner,” he said.

Dr Kamal hoped that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will support those conditions for holding a free and fair election now.

He said the constitution needs some amendments and a commission can be formed in that regard.

SCBA President Advocate Zainul Abedin and its Secretary Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, among others, spoke on the occasion.