Three lawyers barred from practice for 15 days for filing three separate pleas concealing facts against the same bail order
The High Court has directed three lawyers to refrain from the legal profession for 15 days over filing three separate applications, concealing information, against the same order rejecting bail.
The matter centres on bail applications for five accused in the Saiful murder case filed with Mugda police station in the capital. Separate applications had been filed against the same order seeking bail for those five accused.
In the same incident, the court has issued show-cause notices to 11 people in total — the five accused, the three lawyers and three intermediaries — and asked them to reply within 15 days.
The court also directed that, until the rule is disposed of, the five accused will not be able to apply for bail in any court.
The three lawyers who received show-cause notices are Anna Khanam, S M Abdul Baten Sakil and Rahim Uddin.
A High Court bench of Justice K M Zahid Sarwar and Justice Md Zakir Hossain passed the orders on Wednesday (4 November). Assistant Attorney General Imdadul Hanif confirmed the matter.
Imdadul Hanif said that during a hearing on 1 November it came to the court's attention that three separate applications had been filed against the same bail-rejection order. The applications were on the cause lists of different courts, and the court later took the initiative to hear them together.
At the hearing it emerged that the basis of all three applications seeking bail for the five accused was the same order, but the applications had been filed by three separate lawyers.
Imdadul Hanif said there is no opportunity to file multiple applications against the same order. Considering the matter, the court issued a rule on its own initiative, asked the 11 people to show cause within 15 days, and directed the three lawyers to refrain from practising in the High Court Division for 15 days.
Lawyer Anna Khanam, however, said she had withdrawn from the case on 1 October and handed the case file over to the client, and she claimed she bears no responsibility for the incident.
