Staff Reporter : Barrister M Sarwar Hossain has been accused of spreading false and defamatory information about Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan through social and electronic media.
According to a case filed in a Dhaka court, Ahmed Akbar Sobhan sought legal remedy after what he described as a prolonged campaign of misinformation and defamatory statements against him, his family and his business interests.
The dispute intensified after Sarwar made a Facebook post claiming that the Bashundhara Chairman had been accused of grabbing 102,000 acres of land.
The claim has drawn scrutiny over its scale. Statistics show that the combined area of Dhaka’s two city corporations is about 306.4 square kilometres, or nearly 75,700 acres. The total area of the Dhaka metropolitan region is about 360 square kilometres, equivalent to nearly 88,900 acres.
In the same post, Sarwar wrote that “the law is equal for all in Bangladesh and no one is above the law”. However, the complaint alleges that after the Bashundhara chairman sought judicial remedy, a fresh wave of propaganda was launched against him.
On 22 November last year, Ahmed Akbar Sobhan filed a civil case in a Dhaka court against M Sarwar Hossain over dissemination of false and defamatory information on social and electronic media.
The complaint states that the defendant had for a long time been making false, offensive and defamatory remarks, causing reputational damage to the plaintiff, his business institution and family members among the business community and the public at home and abroad. It further claims that they suffered financial, commercial and mental harm as a result.
The suit also alleges that the defendant deliberately used social and electronic media to spread misinformation in an attempt to blackmail influential individuals and leading businesspeople for financial gain.
Ahmed Akbar Sobhan is the Chairman and owner of Bashundhara Group, one of Bangladesh’s leading business conglomerates. Established in 1987 through its real estate business, the group has since expanded into food products, paper, cement, LPG, shipping, gold, newspapers and television channels.
Although reports on the lawsuit were published in different media outlets at the time, Sarwar claimed in a Facebook post on 5 May that no media had covered the case and suggested that the news had been suppressed because of Bashundhara’s influence.
Questions have also been raised over whether a barrister should comment publicly on social media about a matter currently under judicial consideration.
Sarwar has previously faced controversy over other issues. During the Awami League government, he was included in the defence panel for 15 army officers facing trial at the International Crimes Tribunal in three cases involving allegations of murder, enforced disappearance and torture. However, he had earlier made an enforced disappearance allegation against one of those same officers.
Following criticism over the apparent contradiction, Sarwar later stepped down from the legal panel.