The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed for six weeks a High Court order that asked the daily Amar Desh authorities not to publish any report relating to Skype conversations between Justice Md Nizamul Huq and expatriate Bangladeshi legal expert Dr Ahmed Ziauddin.
Justice Nizamul, a judge of the High Court Division of SC, resigned from the post of chairman of International Crimes Tribunal-1 on December 11 following a report published in the daily over his Skype conversations with Ziauddin.
On Wednesday chamber judge of the Appellate Division of the SC Justice MA Wahhab Miah also stayed the HC order that directed the district magistrate of Dhaka to hold an enquiry whether the Press and Publication law has been violated due to publishing the conversation in the newspaper.
The apex court judge passed the order following a petition submitted by acting editor of Amar Desh Mahmudur Rahman on December 24 seeking stay on the HC order.
The judge also asked Mahmudur to file a leave to appeal petition with the SC against the HC order within six weeks.
Following a petition filed by SC lawyer Azher Ullah Bhuiyan, the HC on December 13 passed the orders for stopping publication of report on Sype conversation and holding an enquiry to this effect and also issued a rule upon the government to explain why it should not be directed to apprehend and prosecute Mahmudur for publishing the Skype conversation.
Azher Ullah’s lawyer Additional Attorney General MK Rahman told The Daily Star that the HC rule will remain in force following the SC order, as it stayed only the order of the HC.
However, Advocate Saleh Uddin, a lawyer for Mahmudur, told reporters that the SC’s chamber judge stayed both the HC order and the rule issued against the Amar Desh.
Advocate TH Khan, Barrister Rafique-ul Huq and Advocate AJ Mohammad Ali appeared for the acting editor of the Amar Desh.
Source:The Daily Star
