Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina waves at a public meeting in Rangpur yesterday. Jatiya Party Chairman and local lawmaker HM Ershad is also present.
On Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 4:58 PM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
HC verdict on 7th amendment releasedThe High Court on Wednesday released the full text of its judgement declaring illegal constitutional amendment that had legitimised the military rule by Hussain Muhammad Ershad.The bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik and Justice Sheikh Md Zakir Hossain that delivered the watershed judgment earlier on August 26 made the full text available at around 3:00pm, reports our staff correspondent.Attorney General (AG) Mahbubey Alam later briefed the press about the judgement."Proclaiming martial law ravaging the constitution accounts to treason. It can't be pardoned," the AG said quoting from the judgement.Pointing out that different countries in the world have duly punished the autocrats. This should be the case in Bangladesh too. The parliament and the government can decide on his fate, the AG said while reading out from the verdict.Parliament can make law to stop further extra-constitutional usurpation of state power and bids to grab state power.Ravaging the constitution, Khandker Mushtaque Ahmed proclaimed martial law, the AG said, adding that the HC verdict also denounces Ziaur Rahman for introducing military rule in the country. Ershad had usurped power following the path shown by Zia, the verdict says.Ziaur Rahman made a bigger blow to the nation by wiping out the fundamental state principles --secularism and Bengali nationalism -- that were the main spirit of the Liberation War, the AG said quoting from the verdict.Zia had released the anti-Liberation War forces that committed crimes like murder, rape, and arson during the Liberation War in 1971 by repealing the Dalal Ain, the verdict says, adding that he had rehabilitated the local collaborators of Pakistan's auxiliary forces."In the follow-up to these injustices, Ershad dared to usurp power and ravage the constitution. He later brought the seventh amendment (on November 10, 1986) to legitimise all his actions under martial law, regulations and orders," the AG said while reading out from the judgement.The court observed that the seventh amendment to the constitution came following the fifth amendment, said the AG.The then chief of army staff Lt General HM Ershad proclaimed martial law on March 24, 1982, suspending the constitution and dissolving parliament. He also ousted elected president Justice Abdus Sattar and his council of ministers from office.Ershad declared himself the chief martial law administrator (CMLA), seizing powers of the chief executive and head of the government.Ershad had snatched state power from the then president Justice Abdus Sattar by illegal means as Khandker Mushtaque Ahmed, Abu Sadaat Mohammad Sayem and Maj Gen Ziaur Rahman had done the same earlier.As their takeovers and regimes were illegal and unconstitutional as per the Supreme Court judgement on the constitution's fifth amendment, Ershad's takeover was also illegal and unconstitutional, the court said while delivering the verdict on August 26.The August 26 verdict came in response to a writ petition filed by one Siddique Ahmed of Chittagong in January. He challenged the legality of the seventh amendment that had ratified the proclamation of martial law and other regulations, orders and instructions by Ershad between March 24, 1982, and November 10, 1986.Ershad's takeover also illegal
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