Two judges in Chittagong were forced to leave the courtroom when lawyers belonging to the Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Oikya Parishad protested against attempts to resume proceedings.
Chittagong District and Sessions Judge Nurul Huda and Divisional Special Judge Ataur Rahman entered the courtroom on Sunday to resume hearings.
Some lawyers of the Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi cikya Parishad reated noise and judges to left the courts.
The lawyers, later, gathered below the new court building and demonstrated against the resumption of proceedings.
Lawyers insist on sticking to a decision 26 years ago at the peak of the anti-Ershad agitation that they will not allow proceedings on days of strike.The 20-Party alliance led by BNP have been enforcing continuous blockades and sporadic shutdowns since Jan 5. Shutdowns were enforced on weekdays continuously from the start of February.
So, work in the Chittagong judiciary has been badly hit with lawyers not turning up during shutdowns. Judges have also not sat in courts and cases related to blockade violence have been decided in their chambers.
By sticking to this legacy, lawyers in the port city are also denying themselves work. They say the decision was ‘taken orally’ and they cannot find any written record of such a decision.
Various lawyer’s leaders of Chittagong met on Feb 22 and 26 for a resolution on the issue but could not reach a decision. The two judges went to the courtroom around 10am after nearly a month.
The Prosecutor of Chittagong Divisional Special Judge’s Court Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury alleged that the junior members of JAOP were raising ‘inappropriate’ slogans. “Senior representatives of Ainjibi Oikya Parishad talked to the judge and he left.” – Agencies
