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A long-running dispute among pro-BNP lawyers at the Supreme Court turned violent on Tuesday, September 1, coinciding with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) 48th founding anniversary.
The confrontation took place at the Supreme Court Bar Association building, where rival groups of BNP-aligned lawyers engaged in several rounds of scuffles and physical altercations. At least three lawyers—Ebrahim Khalil, Jafar Ahmed and Anisuzzaman Raihan—were injured and received initial treatment. Police were later deployed to the premises.
Dispute over appointments
The underlying dispute reportedly centres on appointments to the Attorney General’s Office.
On July 30, the Solicitor Wing of the Law Ministry cancelled the appointments of all previous Deputy Attorneys General (DAGs) and Assistant Attorneys General (AAGs) and appointed 86 DAGs and 179 AAGs—a total of 265 law officers.
A section of BNP-aligned lawyers who claim to have been denied appointments has alleged that activists who played an active role in the party’s political struggles were overlooked, while relatively unfamiliar or controversial individuals were appointed.
Lawyers who received appointments, however, have rejected the allegations, arguing that those who failed to secure posts are using their political identity to create pressure and instability around the Attorney General’s Office.
Tensions boil over
The dispute became particularly visible during BNP’s founding anniversary programmes on Tuesday.
According to eyewitnesses, members of the Nationalist Lawyers Forum working as DAGs and AAGs brought out a procession from the Attorney General’s Office around 1:30pm.
When the procession reached the Bar Association building, they encountered a group of lawyers claiming to have been denied appointments.
The two sides exchanged slogans before an argument escalated into pushing and shoving. Although the situation temporarily calmed, tensions resurfaced in the evening.
Around 6pm, an argument between a DAG and lawyer Jafar Ahmed reportedly turned into a physical altercation.
Later, lawyer ABM Ebrahim Khalil was allegedly assaulted near an entrance to the association premises. Further clashes subsequently broke out near the badminton court.
Senior lawyers eventually intervened to bring the situation under control, while police remained at the premises later in the evening.
The incident has caused concern among ordinary lawyers, who fear that public clashes between politically aligned lawyers could damage not only the BNP’s image but also the reputation of the wider legal profession and the country’s judiciary.
As of Tuesday night, it was not immediately clear whether any case had been filed over the clashes.