TBM Report ||
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court witnessed an unexpected suspension of proceedings on Tuesday after Chief Justice and four fellow judges vacated the courtroom following remarks by Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Barrister A M Mahbub Uddin Khokan.
Attorney General Md. Ruhul Quddus Kajol briefed reporters at his office at 2:15 PM, clarifying the sequence of events that led to the judicial walkout around 12:35 PM.
The dispute originated from a 2013 lawsuit regarding a marriage registrar’s appointment. The Appellate Division imposed a fine of Tk 500,000 on a female advocate and another Tk 500,000 on the writ petitioner for concealing previous dismissal orders and filing five separate petitions on the same grounds. The court ordered the penalised amount deposited to Dhaka Shishu Hospital.
Although the order was passed early in the morning without Khokan present, the SCBA president raised the issue around noon during a separate hearing, asking the bench to reconsider the fine. The Chief Justice declined, stating that the litigants engaged in serious fraud by hiding previous orders of the highest court.
According to the Attorney General, Khokan then made a personal remark, claiming that lawyers’ earnings had declined since the Chief Justice took office. The Chief Justice initially dismissed the statement lightly, but when Khokan persisted, the atmosphere deteriorated.
The Chief Justice noted that such statements amounted to contempt of court. Stating that he would not participate in proceedings under such circumstances, the Chief Justice left the courtroom along with four other Appellate Division judges.
 President Barrister A M Mahbub Uddin Khokan.){kind=link}