International Crimes Tribunal-2 chairman Justice Obaidul Hassan on Wednesday cautioned people against passing comments on sub judice matters. “It has come to our notice that some people say that they have rejected a verdict. But there is no scope to reject a court order. It is tantamount to contempt of court,” Justice Hassan said, adding that judges were impartial. “With Allah as witness, judges take an oath to discharge their duties responsibly and without being swayed by any sort of emotion,” he said.
The ICT-2 chief said this in an introductory address before delivering the verdict against war crimes accused and Jamaat-e-Islmai leader Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojahid.
“A person can be aggrieved by a judgement and he can appeal against it in a higher court. But one should not use improper language or vandalise vehicles on the roads in protest,” he added.
Justice Hassan also cautioned against staging demonstrations to influence verdicts. “Slogans demanding death sentence for accused persons are heard, but this is not expected,” he said.
The judge came down hard on TV panellists for making comments on court cases without sound knowledge of the law.
“Those who speak in TV talk shows should remember that a verdict is not executed just after its delivery.
There is an option for appeal in a higher court. Sometimes they raise issues in such a way that it gives the impressions that they have not read the judgement at all,” he said.
He said judges were bound by the law against arguing merits of a judgment in public. “We cannot reply to people who speak about judgements or legal matters.
In that sense, judges are very week. But the judiciary is very strong. If anything untoward happened in Bangladesh, a court can initiate legal action,” he added.
Justice Hassan also criticised senior defence counsels for skipping the tribunal on day of judgement delivery and instead sending their juniors to attend the proceedings. “A hartal was called on the day of verdict delivery. Defence counsels cited this reason for their inability to come to the tribunal. If their juniors can come, then why can’t they make an appearance?,” he asked.
-Wwith The Independent input
