A team of Detective Branch (DB) arrested Akhter Hamid Paban, 30, argued at the court that if the newspapers had not published the reports after obtaining the information, that would have been journalistically unethical and would have hurt public interest.

The publication of these reports has also created the scope to avert such mistakes in the future, Dr Kamal said at the High Court bench comprising Justice MA Matin and Justice AFM Abdur Rahman during the hearing of a contempt petition.

The Prothom Alo and the Bhorer Kagoj in their October 30 reports said Additional Judge Faisal Mahmud Faizee's LLB certificate is allegedly fake. The judge's father Mohammad Faiz filed the contempt petition on November 8.

As the hearing resumed yesterday after a long break, Dr Kamal submitted that the newspapers did not question how the judge was conducting his job or whether he is efficient or not. Rather they published a news on the basis of an incident when the judge was a student. Therefore, the question of contempt of court does not arise.

The counsel added that if the judge was aggrieved by the reports or if he felt that these reports had wrong information, he could have filed a defamation case. The reports do not undermine the court, rather wanted to ensure and uphold the court's dignity.

Representing the petitioner, Barrister Azmalul Hossain argued that those reports spread venom against the judge and the court. If such venom is spread, the court has the right to punish the culprits.

Bhorer Kagoj counsel Barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud, and Dr Kamal's aides Barrister Sara Hossain and Barrister Mustafizur Rahman were also present at the hearing.

The hearing will continue today.

The chief justice on October 31 last year withdrew Faizee in the face of allegations of his tampering with the LLB certificate and lawyers' threat to boycott his court.