Staff Reporter :
A Dhaka court on Tuesday sent Barrister Mainul Hosein, former Advisor to the Caretaker Government, to jail rejecting his bail petition in a defamation case filed on charge of slandering a female journalist, Masuda Bhatti, on a television programme. Judge of the Metropolitan Magistrate Court of Dhaka Tofazzal Hossain passed the order after hearing his bail petition.
Advocate Golam Mostofa, Advocate Aminul Islam and Advocate Mohiuddin Chowdhury appeared in the court on behalf of Barrister Mainul Hosein.
Masuda Bhatti filed the case in the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate on October 21, 2018.
Barrister Mainul got ad-interim bail from High Court on October 21, 2018 in the case. Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s court also followed the High Court on May 12 this year.
In the meantime, the government appealed against the High Court order and after hearing the Appellate Division on August 21, 2019 directed Barrister Mainul Hosein to surrender in the trial court. Following the Appellate Division order he surrender in the trial court yesterday.
In the hearing, Advocate Golam Mostofa said, “It’s a bailable case and he (Barrister Mainul) didn’t misuse of bail granted earlier. So we pray for his bail.” The judge passed order rejecting the bail petition after long three hours of completing the hearing on it. Advocate Mohiuddin Choudhury said they filed a petition to the court to grant him division in the jail. Then the court asked the jail authorities to award him facilities, which he deserves as per jail code, the lawyer added. On October 16, 2018, Barrister Mainul, also the publisher and editorial board chief of The New Nation newspaper, called Masuda a person of “loose character” during a talk show on Ekattor TV. He was connected through video conference. He made the comment after Masuda asked him, “Many are commenting that you are in the alliance [Jatiya Oikyafront] as a representative of Jamaat-e-Islami … Is this true?” At least 22 cases were filed in different parts of the country by the pro-government partym en against Mainul Hosein on the basis of same charge.
Barrister Mainul sent to jail again : Bail plea rejected
