Show-cause on Ekattor TV and Bhatti

Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Thursday stayed for three months the trial proceedings of a defamation case filed against Barrister Mainul Hosein by a woman journalist over a talk-show topic calling him an agent of Jamaat referring to his attendance at the meetings of the Democratic United Front to contest in the last general election, although Jamaat was not a party to the election alliance.
The court also issued a rule upon the concerned parties, including Ekattor TV to explain as to why the trial proceedings of the case should not be declared illegal.
The Division Bench of the High Court Division comprising Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Md Aminul Islam passed the order after hearing a petition filed by Barrister Mainul Hosein challenging the trial proceedings of the case.
Barrister Mainul appeared in person during the hearing.
Masuda Bhatti filed the case against Barrister Mainul Hosein on October 21, 2018, on charge of casting abusive words at her during the television talk-show.
The case is now in charge frame hearing level in a Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Dhaka, said Advocate Abdur Rahim, an associate of Barrister Mainul.
 The case was filed based on a remark passed by Barrister Mainul Hosein after being embarrassed by an unusual query of Masuda Bhatti if Mainul Hosein was representing Jamaat-e-Islami in the Jatiya Oikyafront, a political alliance.
They were connected in a talk-show on Ekattor TV, on October 16, 2018. Mainul’s remark on Masuda sparked protest. And at least 22 cases were filed against Barrister Mainul across the country. He later secured bail in all the cases.
In the petition for quashment, the petitioner argued that the reason for not adding the publisher of the Ekattor TV was to distort retort of the petitioner that if she could call me an agent of Jamaat on the basis of hearsay then he could also say on the basis what other say she was characterless. Then Barrister Mainul said in the petition that he never met her and knew her background. So, he meant her integrity as a journalist. If she took it as an attack on her chastity, that was her problem. Besides, what the petitioner said as counter blast could not be criminal defamatory. He further added in the petition that famous but controversial writer, Taslima Nasreen, in a message to the media described Masuda Bhatti is badly characterless in the sense she is a vicious liar and cannot be trusted.