The first namaz-e-janaza of former President of Bangladesh Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed was held at his native village Pemoi in Paikura union of Kendua upazila in Netrokona on Saturday afternoon.
He was given a guard of honor there.
Earlier, the body was brought to Kendua by a military helicopter from Dhaka at 2.30 pm where people from all walks of life paid their last tributes to him.
After that, the helicopter carrying the body left for Dhaka.
The former president breathed his last at Combined Military Hospital (CMH) around 10.30am on Saturday.
He was suffering from different age-related complications and had been undergoing treatment at CMH since February.
The former chief justice of Bangladesh is survived by two sons and two daughters.
The former chief justice will be buried at Banani graveyard after the second namaz-e-janaza at 10am on Sunday.
Born in 1930 in Netrakona, Shahabuddin served as the chief justice of Bangladesh from 1990 to 1995. In February 1991, he formed a caretaker government with apolitical people and held a free and fair general election in the country.
On July 23, 1996, he was elected the president of the country unopposed, after being nominated by the Awami League government. He retired from office in 2001.
President Abdul Hamid expressed shock and grief over the death of Justice Shahabuddin. He also expressed sympathy to the bereaved family.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina too expressed deep shock and sorrow at the demise of Justice and prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed soul. She also expressed sympathy to the bereaved family.
Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique also expressed profound shock at the demise of the former chief justice and prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed soul and expressed sympathy to the bereaved family.
Career of the former president
He entered the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) in 1954 through a competitive examination, successfully completed training at the Lahore Civil Service Academy and attended a special course on Public Administration at the University of Oxford.
After serving for sometime as a magistrate and then as a sub-divisional officer in Gopalganj and Natore, Shahabuddin was promoted to the post of additional deputy commissioner. He was transferred to the judicial branch in June 1960 thus ending his career in the executive branch of the administration.
He subsequently served as additional district and sessions judge in Dhaka and Barisal and as district and sessions judge of Cumilla and Chittagong. In 1967, Ahmed was appointed the Registrar of the High Court in Dhaka.
He was elevated to the bench as a judge of the High Court on January 20, 1972. On deputation, he also served as the chairman of the Labour Appellate Tribunal (1973-74). Thereafter he returned to the High Court Division as a judge.
Shahabuddin was appointed a judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh on February 7, 1980.
Justice Shahabuddin was the chairman of the Commission of Enquiry constituted to inquire into the causes of police firing on the agitating students of Dhaka University in mid-February of 1983 that led to deaths of several students.
He served as chairman of the Bangladesh Red Cross Society from August 1978 to April 1982. He attended the International Appellate Judge’s Conference held in Washington DC in September 1990.
Shahabuddin was appointed the Chief Justice of Bangladesh on 14 January 1990. A peaceful revolution took place in the country in early December 1990 following public agitation led by opposition political parties for changing the autocratic system of the government and demanding the resignation of the then government headed by President H M Ershad.
Consequently, on December 6, 1990, then Vice President Moudud Ahmed resigned and Chief Justice Shahabuddin was appointed in his place.
On that very day, Ershad resigned and handed over power to Shahabuddin who became the head of the government as acting president of the country. He formed a caretaker government with neutral non-political persons and held a free and fair election in the country in February 1991.
During this period, he gave back freedom of the press by amending a number of laws, including the Special Powers Act. Thereafter on the election of the president, Shahabuddin resumed his duties on October 10, 1991, as the Chief Justice.
Source: United News of Bangladesh