The Appellate Division on Sunday dismissed the government鈥檚 appeal against a High Court verdict that had recently quashed a 2007 defamation case against former Grameen Bank managing director Muhammad Yunus, now the interim government鈥檚 chief adviser.
A three-member bench, led by Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, rejected the government鈥檚 leave-to-appeal petition, upholding the High Court鈥檚 verdict of clearing the defamation charge against Yunus.
The apex court also turned down a request for adjournment made by advocate-on-record Md Taufique Hossain.
Yunus鈥檚 lawyer, Md Mustafizur Rahman Khan, is currently abroad. Additional attorney general Aneek R Haque, representing the state, opposed the adjournment.
The case was filed on January 21, 2007 by Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal joint secretary Nazrul Islam Chunnu, who is also a member of the Mymensingh District Bar Association.
The complaint was lodged with the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Mymensingh.
Chunnu accused Yunus of defaming politicians in an interview with Agence France-Presse at Grameen Bank headquarters on January 17, 2007.
Yunus had said in the interview, 鈥楤angladesh politicians engage in politics only for money. There is no ideological consideration there.鈥�
The complainant claimed that the remark insulted politicians, including himself, who had been involved in politics for over two decades.
The case had remained pending in the magistrate's court.
On October 24, 2024, over two and a half months after Yunus鈥檚 taking office as the chief adviser, the High Court quashed the case after disposing of Yunus鈥檚 long-pending petition.
Yunus took office as the chief adviser on August 8, 2024, three days after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime on August 5, 2024 amid a student-led mass uprising.
In its verdict, the High Court called the defamation case an abuse of the court process and said that the allegations were motivated by an intent to harass Yunus.聽