In a rare move, the Supreme Court debarred journalists from covering its proceedings on Wednesday when the chief justice’s court was hearing an appeal petition of former prime minister Khaleda Zia.
The reporters, who always cover the Supreme Court, were surprised at the security personnel not allowing them entry into the court building.
Asked about the reason, the security men said that the Supreme Court registrar imposed a ban on journalists’ entry.
When approached, the registrar, Md Ashraful Islam, told reporters, ‘There might be a restriction on the entry of journalists, let me look into the matter.’
Leaders of the Law Reporters’ Forum, a platform of reporters who cover legal issues and proceedings of the courts including the Supreme Court, made vain efforts to meet the chief justice, ABM Khairul Haque.
They failed to meet the chief justice after waiting at the office of his personal officer for long.
The aggrieved journalists staged a sit-in on the bridge connecting the court building and the Supreme Court Bar Association building for 30 minutes in protest against the unwarranted restriction.
The attorney general, Mahbubey Alam, described the restriction as ‘unwanted’.
He smelled rat in the action and said, ‘The restriction might be a part of a conspiracy to embarrass the government.’
He said he would discuss the issue with the chief justice and steps would be taken to ensure that such restrictions do not recur in the future.
To express solidarity with the journalists, the Supreme Court Bar Association president Khandker Mahbub Hossain, secretary M Bodruddoza, and a number of lawyers joined the sit-in for five minutes.
No trial can be called an open trial, if the journalists are not allowed to cover the proceedings, said Khandker Mahbub Hossain.
The restriction on journalists on Wednesday, he said, virtually made it ‘a camera trial.’
He termed it as infringement of media rights.
Law Reporters’ Forum president Swapan Dasgupta and general secretary M Badiuzzaman, in a joint statement, termed the restriction on journalists as ‘unwarranted and rare.’
They said that the forum considered that such restriction on journalists on gathering news from the open court is contrary to the rights journalists and the principles of free flow of information and justice.
Dhaka Reporters’ Unity president Shamim Ahmad and general secretary Pathik Saha in a joint statement protested the embargo on the journalists creating obstruction to carrying out professional functions.
In another joint statement, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists president Ruhul Amin Gazi and secretary general MA Aziz and Dhaka Union of Journalists’ president Abdus Shaheed and general secretary Mohammad Baker Hossain also protested the restriction on the journalists and urged the authorities concerned to take steps s that it did not recur in the future.
In a lone earlier precedence, journalists were debarred, in a similar way, from covering the hearing of a case relating to election symbol by the Appellate Division on May 30, 2004.
In protest, the journalists held an impromptu sit in demonstration before the entrance of the chief justice’s office holding their pens in tied hands.
The ban, imposed by Justice M Ruhul Amin, however, was lifted on the following day at the intervention of the then chief justice, Syed JR Mudassir Husain.
