Dhaka: The Supreme Court found Food Minister Qamrul Islam and Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq guilty of contempt and fined them Tk 50,000 — in default of which in seven days they will have to serve a week in prison for their controversial comments about Chief Justice SK Sinha.

A seven-member appellate division bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha on Sunday morning announced the punishment for the ministers.

The court also ordered the ministers to pay the fine to the funds of Liver Foundation and Islamia Eye Hospital.

Qamrul Islam and Mozammel Huq appeared before the court at about 9:00am to give their explanations for the controversial comments about Chief Justice in connection with the war crimes case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali.

Earlier on 20 March, SC adjourned the hearing until 27 March (today) on the contempt rule against the two ministers for their comments about the chief justice.

Earlier, a seven-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice SK Sinha, fixed 27 March after the hearing on a court order which asked Food Minister Qamrul Islam and Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq to appear before it on the day with their explanations.

The court rejected the explanation of Qamrul and accepted Mozammel’s explanation partially, said Syed Mamun Mahbub, a lawyer of Qamrul.

The court also asked Qamrul to give the explanation again during the next hearing.

Earlier, on 15 March, the SC ordered the two ministers to appear before it on 20 March.

On 14 March, ministers Qamrul Islam and Mozammel Huq offered unconditional apology to the court for their remarks.

They begged the pardon in separate applications submitted to the SC through their lawyers.

On 8 March, the Supreme Court summoned the two ministers to appear before it on 15 March for their reactions to remarks of Chief Justice SK Sinha about prosecution as regards the trial of Jamaat leader Mir Quasem Ali in a war crimes case.

The court then ordered them to explain their comments before it by 14 March.

Ministers Qamrul Islam and Mozammel Huq had demanded resignation of the Chief Justice for his reported remarks that ‘the prosecution is doing politics with the trial of condemned war criminal and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali’.

The two ministers made the demands at a roundtable discussion organised by Ekatorrer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee in the city on 5 March.

During the hearing of arguments on Mir Quasem Ali’s appeal petition on 23 February, the Chief Justice purportedly expressed dissatisfaction over the activities of the prosecution and the investigation agency.