SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ; DHAKA – The Bangladesh Bar Council has unanimously decided to temporarily suspend the legal certificate of Md. Masdar Hossain, a retired Senior District and Sessions Judge.
The decision, taken during a meeting on Wednesday, follows allegations of professional misconduct recently highlighted in the media.
According to a press release issued by the Bar Council, the body took notice of a report published in a daily newspaper on April 12 regarding allegations against Hossain.
Professional Ethics and Inquiry
The Bar Council stated that after considering the preliminary truth of the allegations and matters of professional ethics, it found sufficient primary evidence to take action.
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Suspension: His practice certificate is suspended effective immediately.
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Show-Cause: Masdar Hossain has been ordered to explain within 15 days why his certificate should not be permanently revoked.
Masdar Hossain’s Response
In a written statement, Masdar Hossain denied the allegations, claiming they are part of a smear campaign.
“I firmly believe that a certain quarter has intentionally published misleading and exaggerated news to humiliate me for a specific motive,” he stated.
A Significant Legal Figure
Masdar Hossain is a well-known figure in Bangladesh’s legal history. In 1995, while serving as the Secretary General of the BCS Judicial Association, he and his colleagues filed the landmark lawsuit for the separation of the judiciary from the executive branch. The case is famously known as the “Masdar Hossain Case.”
After retiring from the bench, he returned to legal practice and recently served as a member of the Judicial Reform Commission formed during the previous interim government.