The High Court, in a recent verdict on a writ petition against the denial of freedom fighter status to 17 people from Kachua upazila in Chandpur, has observed that the Jatio Muktijoddha Council (Jamuka) has no knowledge about the War of Independence.
鈥楽itting in their air-conditioned offices, they are deciding as to whether a person is to be deemed as a 鈥淔reedom Fighter鈥� or not,鈥� the bench of Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury and Justice Ahmed Sohel said in a recently released full text of their summary verdict that was delivered on December 3, 2019 on a writ petition filed by freedom fighter Md Anwar Hossain Sikder and 16 others challenging the legality of dropping their names from the list of district-wise freedom fighters.
鈥楾ime has come for this charade to be brought to an end,鈥� the verdict observed.
The 17 petitioners were in a list and the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs published their names as freedom fighters. But all on a sudden, the Jamuka stopped payment of their honorary allowance from July 2015 without assigning any reason.
The High Court asked the liberation war ministry to publish the names of the 17 Kachua people as freedom fighters in 90 days from the date of receipt of the certified copy of the verdict.
The ministry was further directed to grant the honorary allowance to the 17 freedom fighters from July 2015.
The High Court also asked the ministry to grant the allowance to the wife and children of petitioner late freedom fighter Md Abdur Rob who died at the time of hearing of the writ.
The full verdict said that certain guidelines should be followed while preparing a list of freedom fighters and also for dropping their names.
It said that the government should have the authority to exclude the name of any person published in the official gazette in the event of proof that the person concerned was not a freedom fighter.
鈥楬owever, that exclusion has to be made upon issuance of prior notice to the freedom fighter concerned and also upon affording him an opportunity to present his case with proper documents,鈥� the verdict read.
It says, 鈥楧ue process of law, as enshrined in Article 31 of the constitution, must be followed in each and every case.鈥�
The verdict further says, 鈥楲et it be made very clear that the freedom fighters are entitled to receive the highest consideration and accommodation from the state.鈥�
鈥楾hey are not to be shown any favour; rather, they are entitled to the honorarium as a matter of right,鈥� the verdict said.
The verdict said that it is extremely unfortunate and regrettable that even after almost 50 years of the country鈥檚 independence, the nation has not been able to evaluate the supreme sacrifice of the freedom fighters and their family members and honour them in true perspective and grant the honour and recognition to which the freedom fighters and their families are entitled as of right, and not as a matter of courtesy and discretion of the state.
Lawyer Taufiq Anam appeared for the freedom fighters, while deputy attorney general Amit Das Gupta represented the government.