Shahjahan Omar faces backlash from pro-BNP lawyers at Supreme Court
However, Shahjahan Omar refuted claims of intending to meet the chief justice
Shahjahan Omar, a BNP defector nominated by the Awami League from Jhalakathi-1, faced criticism from the pro-BNP lawyers when he went to the Supreme Court reportedly to meet Chief Justice Obaidul Hasan at around 11:00am today (6 December).
However, an official from the Supreme Court administration told The Business Standard that Shahjahan Omar did not have a scheduled meeting with the chief justice.
Besides, the chief justice was occupied with court duties and could not meet him, added the official.
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Subsequently, Omar departed the Supreme Court premises around 12:00pm in the face of criticisms by pro-BNP lawyers, with some even labelling him as a "traitor."
Describing the incident, Advocate Kamrul Islam Sajal, organising secretary of the Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum, told the media, "Around 12 noon, Shahjahan Omar sent one of his juniors to my chamber, urging me to visit his chamber. I told his junior that I am not going to meet someone who is a betrayer.
"Then, Shahjahan Omar personally came to my chamber and started speaking loudly to me, asking, 'why I called him a betrayer.'
"At one point, other lawyers chased him from my chamber. He exited and proceeded to the area near the coffee shop, where a group of lawyers surrounded him, chanting slogans against him."
Kamrul Islam also said the pro-BNP lawyers wanted to know about Shahjahan Omar's presence at the Supreme Court, considering he was accused of attacking the chief justice's residence.
"The lawyers stated that such a person, labelled as a hypocrite, has no place in the Supreme Court. Eventually, Shahjahan Omar left the court premises," he added.
However, Shahjahan Omar refuted claims of intending to meet the chief justice.
He clarified to reporters, saying, "I visited the registrar's office for a personal task."
On 29 November, Shahjahan Omar got bail from Dhaka's First Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court after being in jail for nearly four weeks in an arson case.
A day after walking out of jail, Shahjahan Omar made the announcement of taking nomination paper from Awami League at a press conference at the UTC building in the capital's Karwan Bazar.
He said Awami League has nominated him for Jhalakathi-1 constituency. He has submitted nomination papers online as a candidate for the boat.
Later, BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the decision to expel the former state minister from the party.
The Election Commission has declared Shahjahan Omar's nomination valid and rejected the nomination of Bazlul Haque Haroon, the seat's current lawmaker, as he submitted his nomination paper as an AL candidate but did not secure the party ticket in the end.
