The High Court has granted eight weeks of anticipatory bail to Mufti Amir Hamza, Member of Parliament for Kushtia-3, in a defamation case involving remarks made against a cabinet minister.
A High Court bench issued the order on Monday following a hearing. Amir Hamza appeared in person to seek bail after a lower court previously issued a warrant for his arrest.
The legal proceedings stem from a case filed on April 2 by Humayun Kabir, the Additional Public Prosecutor of Sirajganj. The complainant alleged that Hamza made "derogatory and defamatory" comments during a public discourse, specifically labeling Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmud Tuku as an "atheist."
The petitioner further claimed that Hamza's remarks were offensive to religious sentiments and tarnished the reputation of the Minister.
Prior to today’s ruling, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court of Sirajganj had issued a summons for the MP. After Hamza failed to appear on the scheduled date, the magistrate issued a formal arrest warrant on April 21.
With the High Court’s intervention, the MP is now protected from arrest for the next eight weeks, after which he must surrender to the lower court.
