Advocate Kamal Ul Alam, one of the amici curiae appointed by the High Court in connection with a writ petition for seeking a ban on Al Jazeera, said on Monday the international news agency maligned Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by its recent report without any evidence.
He made the argument before a division bench comprising Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah.
Maligning Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina amounts to maligning Bangladesh, said Advocate Kamal Ul Alam.
However, he said the apex court should not entertain the writ petition as the petitioner is not connected to the subject matter of the Al Jazeera report.
AJ Mohammad Ali and Fida M Kamal, amici curiae and former top law officers, also echoed the view of Kamal Ul Alam on the admissibility of the writ petition.
Earlier, on February 10, the HC appointed six senior lawyers as amici curiae asking them to clarify whether it should hear a writ petition filed seeking a ban on broadcast of Al Jazeera TV channel in the country.
Six amici curiae are former attorney general AJ Mohammad Ali, former attorney general Fida M Kamal, Dr Shahdeen Malik, advocate Abdul Matin Khasru, advocate Kamal Ul Alam and advocate Prabir Neogi.
They are to clarify whether the High Court will hear the write petition filed seeking decision on removal of the contents of Al Jazeera report titled "All the Prime Minister's Men" from digital platforms.
The HC asked the six legal experts to submit their opinions before it on February 15.
