DHAKA: The government will file another contempt-of-court charge against detained acting editor of the daily Amar Desh Mahmudur Rahman Tuesday, as the apex court gave a direction Monday in this regard.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court asked deputy attorney-general M K Rahman for filing a fresh petition with supplementary appeal by Tuesday after the petitioner Monday brought a fresh contempt charge against Mahmud for publishing a commentary in the daily Amar Desh on May 10 with the headline ‘Swadhin bicharer name tamasa’ meaning ‘Farce in the name of independent judiciary’.

Amar Desh publisher Hashmat Ali, deputy editor Syed Abdal Ahmad and news editor Mustahid Faruqui are also implicated in the contempt charge.

A five-member bench of the Division headed by Chief Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim also set August 17 for further hearing on the petition and asked the authorities to produce Mahmud before the court again on the day.

Mahmudur Rahman was produced before the court Monday in a previous contempt-of-court charge brought against him on May 2 for publishing in the Amar Desh a report headlined ‘Chamber manei sarker pakkhe stay (chamber bench means stay order in favour of the government)’ on April 21

Barrister Rafiqul Haque, Barrister Abdur Razzak, Advocate Khandakar Mahbub Hossain and Barrister Badruddoza Badal moved for Mahmudur Rahman, also ex-energy adviser of the BNP government, to defend him against the contempt charges.

BDST: 1427 HRS, AUGUST 2010