Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh has sent a legal notice to The Daily Star, seeking Tk 100 crore, for publishing a “defamatory” article about cutting down trees in the Dhanmondi area of the capital. The mayor’s lawyer Barrister Mejbahur Rahman briefed reporters on Wednesday (June 7, 2023). The legal notice was sent to The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam, Executive Editor Syed Ashfaqul Haque, and writer Naziba Basher on June 5. Also read: DSCC mayor Taposh sued for remark on ex-chief justice   They have been asked to remove the relevant content online within 24 hours of receiving the notice and take necessary action within seven days. Lawyer Mejbahur Rahman said that a “column” titled “Cutting trees to make way for air” was published in The Daily Star newspaper on May 13. “In the column, the name of Dhaka South City Corporation was distorted to make Dhoka South Town Corporation,” he said while speaking to reporters at the Supreme Court premises. Also read: June 14 set for hearing on contempt of court case against DSCC Mayor Taposh Besides, the name of Mayor Taposh has also been distorted, he said. Lawyer Mejbahur Rahman said the DSCC Mayor has directed him to take legal action after seeing the report.  “In the notice, we asked for two things – one is to remove the text in the online version and they must apologise unconditionally and will have to pay Tk 100 crore as compensation,” he said. “Seven days have been given to them. If they do not take any action by this time, the next decision will be taken at the behest of Mayor Taposh.” Also read: Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman gets bail in DSA case In the legal notice, The Daily Star was asked to pay the money within seven days of the date of receipt of the legal notice served “for creating and publishing defamatory imputation in your national daily, in online publication and on social media and network with criminal intention to insult, humiliate and persecute our client, thus intentionally harming hard earned reputation of my client, his family and his institution.” In a statement, published on The Daily Star’s website, the editor and publisher wrote: “We want to state that we have indeed received the said legal notice dated June 5, 2023, from the Lex Counsel late in the afternoon of June 6, 2023, and it allows us only 2 days to respond. We will publish our response within that time.” Also read: Prothom Alo reporter Shams gets bail in another DSA case “We, however, want to point out that our piece was termed a ‘report’ or a ‘column’ at the press briefing. This is factually incorrect. It was a satirical piece, which is a globally accepted and common practice in journalism, on an issue of urgent public concern, and that too was published in our designated weekly satirical page titled ‘Satireday,’' the statement added.

A Supreme Court lawyer on Sunday served a legal notice on the government  to halt export of hilsa, a sought-after fish, to India in next seven days.   Lawyer Md Mahmudul Hasan sent the notice to the relevant authorities saying that the export of the popular fish has led to an increase in its price in the local market. Unless it is stopped a writ a petition will be filed before the High Court to take an action in this regard, said the notice. The notice has been sent to the commerce ministry, fisheries and livestock ministry, foreign ministry, civil aviation and tourism secretary, chairman of National Board of Revenue (NBR), Office of Chief Controller of Imports and Exports, chairman of Bangladesh Tourism Corporation.   Also read: With Hilsa catch declining, Bagerhat fishermen stare at penury “Hilsa is Bangladesh’s national fish and yet poor people in the country cannot think of buying it while middle class also struggle due to its high price.  At Bangladesh markets hilsa is being sold at Tk 1,000 to 1,200 per KG,” said the notice. Hilsa from River Padma gets sold at Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,500 as a limited amount of fish can be harvested from there, it said. “It is a matter of regret that the commerce ministry without considering national demand has permitted to export hilsa to India that too at a price lower than that in market here,” said the notice. Hilsa is not a freely exportable product according to Bangladesh Export Policy 2021-24. “The ministry of commerce has allowed the export of hilsa to India completely unjustly, ignoring the public interest”, said the SC lawyer in his notice. Hilsa, a popular fish mostly among the Bengalis in both Bangladesh and India, is found in plenty mainly in Meghna and Padma rivers during the monsoon. Also read: Barguna fishermen rejoice at abundant hilsa catch Bangladesh exports limited quantity of the fish to India especially before the celebration of Durga Puja, the biggest festival of Bengali Hindus who crave it most during this time. The festival will be celebrated first week of next month both in Bangladesh and neighbouring West Bengal.

A legal notice has been sent to Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen asking him to step down within 48 hours for violating the constitution through giving controversial statements. Supreme Court (SC) lawyer Md Ershad Hossain Rashed sent the legal notice on Sunday. “You can’t request the Indian government to prop up  Sheikh Hasina’s government in power. The Bangladesh constitution says that people are the source of all power. Through your statement, you’ve violated the constitution. Thus, you’ve lost the eligibility to remain as a Minister,” the notice reads. Ershad said that the FM’s remark is an attack on the sovereignty of Bangladesh. “Through the legal notice, I’ve requested the FM to resign. Otherwise, legal steps will be taken against him,” said the lawyer. Read: Momen explains what he meant by 'heaven' Earlier at a Janmashtami programme in Chattogram on Thursday, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen reportedly said that he urged the Indian government to back Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina so that she can stay in power.   After much criticism over this statement, the FM provided an explanation the next day, saying that he had requested the Indian government to help the PM to maintain stability of her government.

A legal notice has been served to singer Mainul Ahsan Noble for making offensive remarks against the writer of the Bangladeshi national anthem Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. The notice, filed by Advocate Mithun Biswas of Chattogram court, says a case will be filed against him under the Digital Security Act if he fails to make his unconditional apology before the nation over making the derogatory remarks on his Facebook posts within seven days. Read: Tiktoker held under DSA for making ‘derogatory remarks’ on PM, police "Noble from his verified Facebook page 'Noble Man' made two Facebook posts on August 10 and 11 defaming Tagore using hateful and baseless comments which hurt the sentiments of common people", the notice added.     "Noble has been asked to remove the Facebook posts and issue an apology to the public within seven days owing to his disrespectful act against Rabindranath, '' said the notice. Read Legal notice served on Dhaka University for barring married students from halls

A legal notice  has been served to 11 people seeking Tk 10 crore compensation for Joj Mia who served four years jail term  without committing any crime in August 21 grenade attack case. Supreme Court lawyers Mohammad Humayun Kabir and Mohammad Kausar sent the notice on behalf of Joj Mia on Thursday through registered post saying it has violated his fundamental rights. Then home affairs state minister Lutfozzaman Babar, then home affairs secretary, then IGP Md Khoda Baksh Chowdhury, former Assistant Superintendent of Police and investigation officer of the case Abdur Rashid, Munshi Atiqur Rahman, former special superintendent of police Md Ruhul Amin, were among the recipients of the notice, they said. Also read: AL pays homage to August 21 martyrs The notice also sought formation of an investigation committee to identify the involvement of government officials in illegally jailing Joj Mia. It asked to collect the compensation money from the officials concerned if they found guilty. The notice has asked to respond after taking steps in this regard within 15 days of receiving the notice. The two SC lawyers said they will move to High Court with a writ petition for necessary legal action in this regard if they do not respond. Also read: Aug 21 grenade attack case appeal hearing to start this year: Minister

A legal notice has been served on Dhaka University authorities asking them to withdraw the restriction on pregnant and married female students over staying at residential halls. The notice demanded that necessary steps be taken to repeal the discriminatory provision against female students within three working days of receiving the notice, otherwise the intervention of the High Court would be sought in the matter. Mohammad Shishir Monir, a lawyer of the Supreme Court and a former student of the law department of Dhaka University, sent the legal notice to DU vice-chancellor, registrar, proctor and provosts of three women’s dormitories, including Shamsun Nahar Hall on Wednesday. Read: Academic libraries: Dhaka University paints a ‘very frustrating’ picture In the notice, the Supreme Court Lawyer said the right to stay in a university dorm does not depend on whether the student is pregnant and married or not. Dhaka University still has such discriminatory provisions against female students. This decision is a clear violation of Articles 27 and 28 of the Constitution. Meanwhile, a meeting of the Provost Standing Committee of Dhaka University was held this evening to discuss the rules of the female students’ hall, said  VC Md Akhtaruzzaman. In the recent media reports, the lawyer came to know that the residential seats of some students of Dhaka University have been cancelled due to their marriage. Read: DU hall expels third-year student for torturing junior in dorm According to the Rules of Distribution of Seats and Other Disciplinary Rules for Residential Students of Shamsun Nahar Hall, if any student gets married, she should inform the authorities immediately, otherwise her seat will be cancelled due to violation of rules. Only in special cases, the married student will be given the opportunity to stay in the hall for the current session. The rules of Shamsun Nahar Hall also stated that pregnant students cannot stay in the hall. The notice further said that due to that provision, practically married students will be deprived of the opportunity of higher education by availing the residential facilities of the hall. There is a lot of dissatisfaction and excitement among the students about this issue.

Bangladesh’s ‘Abinta Kabir Foundation’ has recently delivered a legal notice to stop the production of the Bollywood film “Faraaz”, based on the 2016 Holey Artisan tragedy in Dhaka. Delivered by the law firm Legal Counsel, the notice was directed to T-Series, the production company of this film; director Hansal Mehta and co-producer Anubhav Sinha. This was disclosed by a press release signed by lawyer Miti Sanjana representing Legal Counsel. Abinta Kabir Foundation has also shared the details regarding this notice on its official Facebook page. Read: Holey Artisan Victim Faraaz's Heroism is Now on the Silver Screen "1st July 2016 was the darkest night in the history of Bangladesh. Brutality in the form of aberrant militancy took away the innocent lives of 22 people in the Holey Artisan Bakery of Dhaka - the capital city of Bangladesh. The incident shattered the emotions of the family members of the victims for their lifetime and thundered the entire nation into a nightmare in reality," the foundation stated through the statement.  Addressing the film, it stated, "In recent times, Hansal Mehta - an Indian filmmaker announced the production of his new movie based on this black chapter of human history. The recently released teaser of the movie clearly reprised the horrific night and misinterpreted that incident provoking extremist activities of terrorism - which never coincides with religion and humanity." "The making of this movie has ultimately started affecting the emotions of the family members of the victims from the nation and abroad as well as negatively impacted the public sentiments of Bangladeshi masses. This incident which severely shocked the entire nation must not have ever been represented again," it stated. Read: Coming soon: A Bollywood film on Dhaka cafe massacre! The foundation described its concern over the film, saying that the news of the movie’s production has already turned into a hazard for million sentiments urging never to see or to remember the repetition of the Holey Artisan attack. "Certainly, making this movie would clearly disgrace the sacrifices of the victims who lost their lives in that terrible night. It underestimates a country and its nation- that will forever want to eliminate this chapter which hurts its glory," the statement added. "From the depth of our conscience, let us stand against this injustice made to ignominy our nation," the foundation asked for a united stance against the movie.

A legal notice was sent to the authorities concerned seeking implementation of a High Court (HC) order to make 14-day quarantine mandatory for all foreign returnees. The notice also sought an explanation on why the progress report on implementing HC’s four-point directive was not submitted to the court. Also Read: Lockdown is only way to tackle coronavirus  Health Minister Zahid Maleque, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali and five others were made respondents to the notice issued by Supreme Court lawyer Yunus Ali Akhand. The notice asked the respondents to reply within 24 hours and warned that a contempt of court case will be filed against them if they don't respond. On March 19 last year, the HC issued a rule along with a four-point interim directive after an initial hearing on a writ petition filed by Akhand. It also issued a rule seeking an explanation why airports and seaports won’t be directed to ensure 14-day quarantine and health examination. Covid-19 would not have spread to this extent had the authorities concerned followed the directive on mandatory quarantine of foreign returnees, the lawyer said. The cabinet secretary is yet to file the progress report which was scheduled to be submitted within April 16 last year, he said. Also Read: HC wants to know steps taken to prevent coronavirus Covid-19 situation Bangladesh posted its highest single-day death count from the virus for the third consecutive day on Monday. The health authorities confirmed 83 deaths in the afternoon, surpassing Sunday’s figure of 78. The number was 77 on Saturday. Fatalities from Covid-19 rose to 9,822 as the mortality rate remained static at 1.42 percent for the fourth consecutive day, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said in a handout.

A legal notice has been served to the government seeking measures to ensure supply of proper medical equipment at the public hospitals across the country.

A legal notice has been issued to the government asking it to take necessary steps to ensure equal rights to inherit property for Hindu and Buddhist women.