Khaleda writ goes to 5th HC bench

4th bench expresses inability to hear petition; Khaleda gives govt 5 days to withdraw supplementary notice
The chief justice on Monday assigned yet another High Court bench to hear the writ petition filed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s chairperson, Khaleda Zia, challenging the April 20 notice that asked her to vacate her Dhaka Cantonment house, after the fourth bench expressed its inability to hear the petition.
Khaleda Zia, also former prime minister, replied on Monday to the supplementary notice issued to her by the Directorate of Military Land and Cantonment on May 7, asking her to explain why she should not be directed to return the house to the military estates officer.
Khaleda, in her reply, demanded that the authorities withdraw, cancel or rescind the supplementary notice in five days.
If the authorities fail to do so, the matter will be taken to the High Court, stated the letter sent to the defence secretary, cabinet secretary, director of the Directorate of Military Land and Cantonment, military and land administrator of Dhaka Cantonment and the military estates officer by Khaleda’s counsel, AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon.
Chief Justice MM Ruhul Amin referred the petition to the High Court bench of Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury for hearing.
Earlier in the day, a forth bench of Justice Mohammad Anwarul Haque and Justice Farah Mahbub expressed their inability to hear the petition as the former had given his opinion on the issue long ago when he was posted at the law ministry.
The chief justice on Sunday had assigned the fourth bench to hear the petition as a third bench of Justice Zinat Ara and Justice AKM Abdul Hakim felt embarrassed to hear the case.
‘But, you are breaching your oath as you have pledged to do right to all manner of people according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will,’ argued Khaleda’s counsel TH Khan.
The judge replied, ‘I have never felt embarrassed to hear any case, even during the emergency period. But now I am disqualified from hearing the case as I had handled the file involving the house as a law-officer of the law ministry.’
The judge also said, ‘According to the Supreme Court’s code of conduct, a judge is unable to hear any petition if s/he has any previous involvement with the issue.’
The court ordered the case to be sent to the chief justice for constitution of another bench to hear the petition.
After the order, TH Khan told reporters, ‘The image of the highest court is being undermined by repeated embarrassment of the judges to hear the petition.’
Khaleda’s other counsel, Moudud Ahmed, also former law minister, said, ‘The question of justice for the people has now been raised as even a former prime minister is being denied access to justice.’
Four High Court benches have so far felt embarrassed to hear Khaleda’s petition which was filed with the High Court on May 3 with the permission of the bench of Justice Tariq ul Hakim and Justice M Azizul Haque.
On the other hand, Khaleda’s reply to the supplementary notice stated, ‘The supplementary notice is mala fide, illegal and without any jurisdiction. It has been served only to disrupt the process of law with an ulterior motive.’
The supplementary notice is an admission that the notice issued on April 20 by the Directorate of Military Land, which asked Khaleda to vacate the house in 15 days, was illegal, mala fide and without jurisdiction and since the April 20 notice is illegal the supplementary notice is also illegal, the letter stated.
The supplementary notice, issued at a time when the writ petition filed by Khaleda on May 3 is pending with the High Court, amounts to fraud and the authorities have tried to subvert and undermine the Supreme Court in violation of the established norms of judicial process, it further stated.
‘The first notice, issued on April 20, asking Khaleda to vacate the house in 15 days became obsolete after the issuance of the second notice on May 7, asking her to explain in 15 days why she would not be evicted from the Cantonment house,’ said the letter.
The Directorate of Military Land and Cantonment issued both the notices.
The cabinet on April 8 cancelled the lease of the house allotted to Khaleda after the assassination of her husband, former president Ziaur Rahman, in May 1981.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina, addressing the parliament on April 1, urged Khaleda Zia to return her Cantonment house to the state, saying that the former prime minister should not hold on to the house illegally.
The prime minister also said the house had been leased out to Khaleda in violation of the Cantonment Board’s rules and that the cabinet would make a decision in this regard.
The house was leased to the family of Ziaur Rahman in accordance with a decision made by the cabinet of the then acting-president, Abdus Sattar, on June 12, 1981.
   The Zia family has been living in the Cantonment house since the early 1970s.
TH Khan along with Moudud Ahmed, Khandkar Mahbubuddin Ahmad, Jamiruddin Sircar, Abdur Rezzaque Khan, Rafiqul Islam Mian and AM Mahbubuddin Khokon appeared for Khaleda Zia.

Courtesy of NewAgebd