BSS, Dhaka
Md Obaidul Alam Akon, a valiant freedom fighter who was sacked wrongfully from Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in 1982, on Monday finally came clean after fighting a long legal battle for his rights.
A six-member Appellate Division virtual bench headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain dismissed a state plea seeking review of its order that had upheld a High Court order, declaring the then military court’s sentence out of legal jurisdiction and instructed the DAE to pay Akon his dues.
“The concerned authorities will now have to pay Akon his due salary and other benefits associated with his previous position from 1982, the year when he lost his job, till the date of his retirement,” Akon’s lawyer Prabir Niyogi told newsmen.
The 68-year-old valiant Freedom Fighter was ecstatic after the apex court’s order and said he didn’t expect this legal battle to end in his lifetime.
Akon was sacked by a military court in 1982 on the allegation of receiving Taka 2.50 more for selling five packets of jute seeds, from a farmer.
“They filed a false case against me and the military court after a brief hearing, fined Taka one thousand and jailed me for two months. Later, the Department of Agricultural Extension also sacked me for the crime I never committed,” Akon said.
Md Obaidul Alam Akon in 2012 -- filed a writ with the High Court and the court in 2017 -- declared the military court’s sentence illegal and out of legal jurisdiction and instructed the Department of Agricultural Extension to pay Akon his dues.
Following the High Court order, DAE appealed with the apex court and the Appellate Division on March 8, 2020, which also upheld the High Court order. The Department of Agricultural Extension later filed the review plea, which was dismissed Monday.
