Pro-BNP lawyers protest appointment of 2 judges

12 April 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

Senior pro-BNP lawyers yesterday urged the chief justice not to administer oath to two of the newly appointed 17 High Court judges for what they said were their past 'controversial' activities. The two judges -- Md Ruhul Quddus Babu and FRM Khasruzzaman -- along with 15 others were appointed on Sunday. The lawyers made the call during a meeting with Chief Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim at his Supreme Court office. They said that Ruhul Quddus had been an accused in a murder case, and there is an allegation against Khasruzzaman that he kicked the door of the chief justice's court in 2006. President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, Secretary Badruddoza Badal, TH Khan, Jamiruddin Sircar, Rafiqul Islam Miah and Zainul Abedin attended the meeting with the chief justice. After the meeting, Khandaker Mahbub Hossain told reporters that they told the chief justice of their stance on the issue. He also said they are optimistic that the chief justice will consider their demand. Otherwise, the government and the chief justice will have to take the responsibility for any consequences arising from the appointment of the controversial persons, he added. Meanwhile, pro-Awami League members of the SCBA, in a statement yesterday, condemned the activities of pro-BNP lawyers who created chaos during the proceedings of a petition of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the High Court on Sunday.