Supreme Court asks for Ekattor TV talk show footage

The Supreme Court has asked for video footage of a talk show and news aired by Ekattor TV and the audio of the conversation between two Supreme Court judges broadcast by the TV channel. The four-member appeals bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha gave the order in a suo moto rule Tuesday.  The Latin term suo moto means an order given by the court on its own initiative. Tuesday’s order comes amid the top court hearing a contempt rule against two journalists of Bengali daily ‘Janakantha’— Editor Atikullah Khan Masud and Executive Editor Swadesh Roy. They have been pulled up by the top court over an article questioning the conduct of judges hearing war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury’s appeal.

 On Monday, the journalists’ counsel Salahuddin Dolon produced a transcript of a telephone conversation between the Chief Justice and someone else, which the defence claimed was a discussion on war crimes convict Chowdhury’s appeal and a case on BNP leader Moudud Ahmad’s house. Both Janakantha Editor Atikullah Khan Masud and Executive Editor Swadesh Roy were present during the hearing. Ekattor TV ran a news report on Monday, in which the conversation was aired. Later at night, participants in its talk show ‘Ekattor Journal’ discussed the audio tape of the conversation. “The court has told me to inform Ekattor Television authorities about the order,” Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told reporters Tuesday, according to a news agency----Aminul.