Dhaka: The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court today confirmed the High Court’s decision to dismiss a defamation case against Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Adviser of the interim government and Nobel laureate. This decision comes after a three-member bench headed by Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury rejected a state petition that sought to overturn the High Court’s judgment.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the case was originally filed by JASAD joint secretary Nazrul Islam Chunnu in 2010 regarding a statement made by Dr. Yunus in 2007. In 2011, a petition was submitted to the High Court to annul the case proceedings, which the High Court granted on October 24, 2024, by scrapping the case altogether.
Despite the High Court’s ruling, the state pursued a leave to appeal petition against this judgment. The matter was subsequently brought before a chamber judge court of the Appellate Division, which scheduled a hearing for July 27 at the apex court’s regular bench. The recent decision by the Supreme Court marks the end of this legal battle, with Additional Attorney General Aneek Rushd Haque representing the state and advocate on record Md. Taufique Hossain defending Professor Yunus.