Contempt of courtHome secretary, IG prisons seek unconditional apology

Secretary of the Home Ministry’s Security Services Division Md Abdullah Al Masud Chowdhury and Inspector General of Prisons Brigadier General A S M Anisul Haque on Monday sought unconditional apology to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court for not complying with one of its orders.

They sought apology to the six-member bench of the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan.

However, the officials of the Home Ministry were exempted from personal appearance after they assured the apex court that they would fully implement the court order immediately. The court fixed February 4 in 2024 for further order on the issue.

Earlier on November 20, the Appellate Division of the SC summoned the officials to place their explanations for not complying with an apex court verdict to give promotion to six officials of the prisons. The officials were asked to appear before the apex court on December 4.

The apex court passed the order after hearing five separate contempt of court petitions filed against them.

According to the case documents, following a review petition, the apex court delivered its verdict on April 7 in 2022 in which the apex court asked the authorities concerned to give promotion to six of its officials. The verdict asked the respondents to immediately consider the promotion of the six officials in line with the ‘Officers and Staff (Department of Prisons) Recruitment Rules, 1984’.

Since the direction of the verdict was not implemented, five promotion aspirants including Md Nurunnabi Bhuiyan filed five separate contempt of court petitions with the Appellate Division on September 27 last year.

Referring to a decision of the prison authorities, their lawyer on November 20 told the court that there is no opportunity to consider the retrospective promotion of the six officials at this stage according to the Recruitment Rules, 1984.

After hearing on that day, the apex court summoned the officials to appear before it to place their explanation regarding the issue.

Lawyer Mohammad Ibrahim Khalil who appeared in the court hearing on behalf of the contempt petitioners said, “They both (Home Ministry officials) appeared in court today (Monday). They tendered an unconditional apology to the court and assured the court to implement the court judgement in full by February 4.”