Why, how it was removed

For the statue of Lady Justice, it was a brief stay on the Supreme Court premises. It was there for only five months.

Soon after the statue was installed as a symbol of justice in December last year, several Islamist organisations, including Hefajat-e Islam, termed it “un-Islamic” and demanded its removal.

A few days later, Hefajat submitted a memorandum to the SC to press home the demand.

Later in early February this year, the Awami Olama League, which claims to be affiliated with the ruling Awami League, called for the statue's immediate removal, claiming it to be of a Greek idol.

Then, Khelafat Andolan and Jamait Ulama-E-Islam, components of the BNP-led 20-party alliance, and Islami Andolan Bangladesh joined in making the same demand.

All the while, Hefajat issued a number of press releases, asking the government to remove the statue, which is a variation of Greek Goddess Themis, from the court premises.

On April 21, Islami Andolan Bangladesh demanded that the government do that before the start of Ramadan.

At a gathering in front of the capital's Baitul Mukarram Mosque, party leaders also threatened to stage countrywide demonstrations on the 17th Ramadan and to besiege the court afterwards, if the demand were not met.

Party Ameer Maulana Syed Rejaul Karim said, “Installing an idol on the court premises which is adjacent to the National Eidgah is an attack        on the country's culture, and it            hurts religious sentiments of the Muslims.”

Earlier on April 11, at a meeting with the Alem and Ulema from Qawmi madrasas, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself said she personally did not like the statue on the SC premises either.

On April 17, Hasina told her cabinet colleagues that she had asked the chief justice either to remove the statue or reinstall it somewhere else so that it could not be seen from the National Eidgah.

A section of SC lawyers also called for its removal. On several occasions, they spoke in favour of the demand.

Against this backdrop, the SC authorities took down the statue in the early hours of yesterday. The work began around 11:30pm on Thursday and ended around 4:00am yesterday. Mrinal Haque, the sculptor, oversaw the dismantling of the statue. He said he was making sure that the statue was not damaged.

Court sources said Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha decided to remove the statue in a bid to resolve the debate on the issue in a peaceful way.

The chief justice made the decision taking the overall situation, including the PM's stance, into consideration.

There was no pressure from the government in this regard, the sources said, adding the CJ was yet to decide on the figure, which has been brought down.

Some other sources said the CJ had talked about relocating the statue to a place near the Annex Building, which is also on the SC premises.

Contacted, Advocate Zainul Abedin, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, told The Daily Star yesterday that the government had requested the chief justice to remove the statue from the court premises as the PM was against keeping it there.

“We have suggested that the chief justice relocate it in order to keep the apex court and the chief justice above all debates,” he said.

The SCBA president also said the chief justice should be kept above any dispute, as he has been working for establishing justice. 

On Thursday, the chief justice held a meeting with the present and former presidents and secretaries of the SCBA to hear their opinions about the statue.

SCBA Secretary AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, who attended the meeting, told this newspaper yesterday that all the meeting participants opined that the statute should be taken down for “upholding the dignity and honour of the apex court”. 

“As the statue could be seen from the Eidgah Jamaat, all of us suggested removing it from the Supreme Court premises and relocating it on any old road or highways premises to avoid any sort of controversy,” Advocate SM Rezaul Karim, a former SCBA secretary, who was also present in the meeting, told this correspondent yesterday.   

Former SCBA president Dr Kamal Hossain, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam, Barrister Rokanuddin Mahbub, Advocate Khandker Mahbub Hossain, and Advocate AJ Mohammad Ali, its present secretary Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, former secretaries Advocate AM Aminuddin and Advocate Nurul Islam Sujan, among others, attended the meeting.

On Thursday night, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told The Daily Star that “They [SCBA's present and former presidents and secretaries] opined that the statue should be removed to avert any untoward situation.”

They also suggested that the statue might be relocated to a place near the SC museum, which is also on the SC premises.