The High Court on Sunday granted bail for five months to Barrister Mainul Hosein in two defamation cases.
An HC bench of Justice Muhammad Abdul Hafiz and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim passed the order after hearing separate petitions filed by him.
Earlier in the day, two courts — one in Dhaka and the other in Jamalpur — issued warrants for the arrest of Barrister Mainul Hosein in two cases filed for hurling abusive words at journalist Masuda Bhatti in a television talk-show.
In Dhaka, Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Asaduzzaman Nur passed the order after recording the statement of Masuda Bhatti and fixed November 22 for submission of records regarding the arrest of Barrister Mainul.
The court order came after the female journalist filed a defamation case against him.In Jamalpur, Judge Solaiman Kabir of Cognisance Court came up with the arrest warrant after Farzana Yasmin Lita, convener of Jamalpur district unit Jubo Mohila League, filed a Tk-20,000 crore defamation case against Mainul.
According to the case statement, Mainul who was connected to a talk-show ‘Ekattor Journal’ through videoconferencing aired on Ekattor TV hosted by Mithila Farzana, made an ‘offensive comment’ against Masuda Bhatti on October 16.
He tarnished the image of Masuda Bhatti, the statement said.During the talk-show, Masuda Bhatti asked Mainul, “You say that you’re in the Jatiya Oikyafront as a citizen of the country but in social networking sites, many people are saying that you are there as a representative of Jamaat.”
Angered at the comment, Mainul said, “I’m thanking you for your audacity and I want to believe you as ‘characterless’. There’s no question about Jamaat link’s with me and what question you have asked is embarrassing for me.”
source: UNB
