Bar council suspends Masder Hossain’s licence over Tk 1.25cr misappropriation allegation

The Bangladesh Bar Council has suspended the licence of Md Masder Hossain, barring him from practising as a lawyer over allegations of misappropriating Tk 1.25 crore from a client.

Masder Hossain, a former district and sessions judge and a member of the Judiciary Reform Commission formed during the interim government, has been directed to explain within 15 days why his licence should not be permanently revoked.

In a press release, the bar council said the decision was taken unanimously at a meeting held in its building yesterday.

The council acted after taking note of a report published in the daily Kalbela on April 12, which alleged that Masder Hossain had misappropriated the funds.

According to the report, he admitted to the allegation. Considering the prima facie truth of the claim and issues of professional ethics, the bar council found sufficient grounds to initiate proceedings against him.

His licence will remain suspended during the 15-day period, the press release said.

Masder Hossain today refuted the Kalbela report, saying it contains misleading, exaggerated, and baseless allegations.

Masder said, “In reality, I have filed an appeal in accordance with the law in the relevant case. At different stages, the amount determined has changed, and I have already deposited a portion of it into the government treasury in accordance with proper procedures. Currently, approximately Tk 1,735,000 remains outstanding. Upon payment of this remaining amount, the matter would be fully settled”.

“However, due to an erroneous judgement (by Customs Excise & VAT Appeal Tribunal), I have filed an appeal before the High Court, which is currently pending. Without proper verification or investigation of these facts, the report has portrayed me as guilty. Furthermore, I would like to state that a portion of the money I provided was not deposited into the government treasury by the lawyer concerned; instead, it was deposited into his personal bank account. A complaint has already been filed with the Anti-Corruption Commission regarding this matter,” he said.

“Additionally, I was never notified of the complaint allegedly filed against me with the Supreme Court Bar Association on December 1, 2025. Publishing such unverified news has caused severe damage to my personal and professional reputation. Furthermore, the press release issued by the Bangladesh Bar Council on Wednesday night falsely claimed that I had admitted to the allegations. In reality, the Supreme Court Bar Association did not take any statement from me,” he said.

Masder Hossain’s daughter, Meherba Sabrin, in a statement said, “It's been two days we are trying to reach out to Kalbela for publishing his statement but in vain. They did not publish it. At the same time, a lot of people on Facebook started portraying him as the antagonist.”

“I am attaching the news link itself (it had a lot of follow-up as well once the law minister indirectly spoke about it in public) and attaching my father's statement and relevant evidence,” she added.

“Based on the Kalbela report, the Supreme Court Bar Association has suspended his licence without any investigation a few minutes ago.

“Media trial was never something I prepared myself for, nor did my family. I am humbly, with every last drop of mental strength, reaching out to you for your kind assistance,” Sabrin said.

Masder Hossain is widely known as the petitioner in the landmark “Masdar Hossain case”, which led to the separation of the judiciary from the executive branch.

In 1999, he filed the case seeking judicial independence. Following the verdict, Bangladesh formally separated the judiciary from the executive in 2007.

He began his judicial career in 1983 as a munsif and later served as secretary general of the BCS Judicial Association in 1995.

After retirement, he practised as a lawyer at the High Court and recently served on the Judiciary Reform Commission during the interim government.