Attorney General Mahbubey Alam passes away

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam passed away Sunday while undergoing treatment at Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka.  

He breathed his last around 7.25pm, the attorney general's son Sumon Mahbub confirmed The Business Standard.

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed their profound shock and sorrow at the death of the state's chief lawyer.

With fever, 71-year-old Mahbubey Alam got admitted to the CMH on September 4. Later, he tested positive for Covid-19.

While undergoing treatment, Mahbubey Alam was shifted to the intensive-care unit (ICU) on September 18 as his condition deteriorated.

Law Minister Anisul Haque then said the attorney general had a rapid pulse beforehand but never informed the doctors about it.

"He has been taken to the ICU for the treatment. Now he is getting better," the law minister had said. Anisul Haque also said the attorney general was diagnosed negative in his latest Covid-19 test.           

Mahbubey Alam had been the attorney general of the country since January 13, 2009 – the longest period in Bangladesh's history. As the state's chief legal officer, he was also the ex officio chairman of Bangladesh Bar Council.

Mahbubey Alam, a former president of Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association, also served the association for one term as the secretary.    

"His role to trials of Bangabandhu murder and cases of crimes against humanity was extraordinary. He was on the forefront in establishing the rule of law," President Hamid said in a condolence statement.   

The president said Mahbubey Alam's death is an irreparable loss to the judiciary.

The premier in her message of condolence said, "The nation will always recall the contribution of former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Mahbubey Alam to the country's legal arena."

Sheikh Hasina also said that he had played an efficient role in dealing with many important national legal matters as an eminent lawyer of the country. He always devoted himself to the legal profession upon justice which will be remembered forever with due respect.

Both the president and the prime minister prayed for salvation of the departed soul and expressed deep sympathy to the bereaved family.

Meanwhile, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Law Minister Anisul Haque, other ministers and leaders of different socio-cultural organisations also expressed shock and sorrow at the death.  

Mahbubey Alam was born on February 17, 1949 in Munshiganj's Mouchhamandra village. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Political Science and Masters of Arts in Public Administration from the University of Dhaka in 1968 and 1969 respectively. He had his LL.B degree from the same university in 1972.

He was enrolled as an advocate with Bangladesh Bar Council in 1973 and subsequently was awarded permission to practise in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court in January 1975.

In due course, he became member of the Dhaka Bar Association and Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association. He got himself enrolled as an advocate of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in 1980.

Mahbubey Alam obtained diploma in Constitutional Law and Parliamentary Institutions & Procedure in 1979 from the Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies, New Delhi, India.

He held the office of the Additional Attorney General for Bangladesh from November 15, 1998 to October 4, 2001.