Morning News
28 th April 1967
Prejudicial speech case
Sk. Mujib sentences to 15 months’ S.I. –
(By Our Court Correspondent)
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, President, East Pakistan Awami League, was convicted under section 47(5) of DPR by Mr. Afsaruddin, Magistrate, 1st class Dacca who sentenced him to suffer one year and three months’simple imprisonment for delivering a prejudicial speech. A petition was moved on behalf of Sheikh Mujib to release him on bail till the outcome of an appeal. It was rejected. The judgement was delivered by learned Magistrate inside the Central Jail yesterday at 4 p.m.
The prosecution case was that on March 20, 1966 a public meeting was held at the Outer Stadium presided over by Sheikh Mujib. The meeting was attended by 15,000 people from all walks of life. In that meeting Sheikh Mujib delivered a forceful speech in Bengali which according to the prosecution was prejudicial as it was intended or was likely to bring into hatred the Government and to excite disacection towards it and to promote feelings of enmity and hatred between different classes of citizens of Pakistan.
The accused pleaded not guilty. The defence case was that Sheikh Mujib criticised the measures and policies of the Government in an objective manner and had suggested remedial measures so that a sense of brotherhood might grow amongst the people of two wings of the country through the removal of economic disparity.
The prosecution examined 13 witnesses. The learned Magistrate discussed in detail the evidence of the witnesses. He gave much reliance on the witness of P.W. 12 a Labour leader and Secretary of several trade unions at Narayanganj and Chandpur. This witness stated that he attended the meeting addressed by the accused . The accused according to this witness, had said in course of his speech :
“For the last 18 years the West Pakistanis are lording over the people of East Pakistan. Foreign exchange is earned by exports made by East Pakistan but it is spent in West Pakistan. All industries are located in West Pakistan. The Headquarters of Army, Navy and Air Force are situated in West Pakistan. In September War defence arrangement was very weak. There were only some broken planes in East Pakistan. Moreover there was no arrangement for defending East Pakistan.”
The witness added that this speech of the accused created hatred in his mind.
The Magistrate did not agree with the defence contention that this witness, who remembered to quote the expressions of Sheikh Mujib only and not other people who spoke before and after the Sheikh in the meeting should not be relied upon. He observed that the speech made by Sheikh Mujib was so effective, meaningful and prejudicial, that it made a permanent impression on the mind of the witness and he could not forget these expressions and the speeches of other people not being as effective and volcanic the witness reasonably could not recollect them in the witness …
Discussing the grave emergency existing in the country since the September War, the Magistrate observed that the said prejudicial speech was delivered at a time when the horrors of the war were still fresh in the minds of the common people. In these circumstances a public speech of prejudicial nature as the one delivered by Sheikh Mujibar Rahman, a prominent leader of a political party, would certainly have an effective influence upon the mind of the public who were not capable enough to judge things in their proper perspective.
In awarding the sentence, the learned Magistrate remarked: It has already been stated that emergency was still in force and the country had just passed through the ordeal of September War. So it was the duty of every citizen to refrain from unnecessary and loose talk which might incite or lead others to hate and hold in disaffection the Government or to do any act subversive of the state. Speech like the one in question about the vital points of defence of the country may even help the enemy. Any citizen of a democratic country like ours has the right to criticise the Government activities and has the right to mobilise public opinion in his favour to replace the Government with better people according to Constitutional methods. But this does not give him the right to do any act or say anything which was likely to disrupt the stability and integrity of the country or to create hatred and disaffection towards the Government established by law. The accused by this speech had attempted to incite the people of East Pakistan against the people of West Pakistan and thereby he had created hatred between citizens of Pakistan . This kind of parochial and provocative speech is not at all conducive in establishing harmonious relationship between the people of two wings of Pakistan leading to greater national integration which was the crying need of the day.
Mr. Mesbahuddin APP and Mr. A. Khaleque Khan, Court Deputy S.P. conducted the case for the prosecution Mr. A Salam Khan, Mr. Zahiruddin and Mr. Abul Hosain appeared on behalf of the accused.
সূত্র: সংবাদপত্রে বঙ্গবন্ধু তৃতীয় খণ্ড: ষাটের দশক॥ দ্বিতীয় পর্ব