DHAKA: The Supreme Court issued another contempt-of-court rule against detained acting editor of the Amar Desh Mahmudur Rahman and its publisher Hashmat Ali Tuesday for publishing a commentary in the Bengali daily.

In the rule the apex court gave them up to August 24 to explain why they “should not be punished” for publishing the report titled ‘Swadhin bicharer name tamasa’ meaning "farce in the name of independent judiciary" in the daily on May 10.

Supreme Court lawyers Riaz Uddin Khan and Mynul Hassan jointly filed the petition Tuesday.

A five-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim, also directed the prison authorities to produce Mahmudur Rahman on August 24 in connection with the contempt case.

Mahmudur Rahman earlier faced another contempt-of-court charge on May 2 for publishing in the Amar Desh another report headlined ‘Chamber manei sarker pakkhe stay (chamber bench means stay order in favour of the government)’ on April 21.

The court also fixed Wednesday for hearing on the previous rule. Mahmud and four other journalists will have to appear before the court on the day.

BDST: 1427 HRS, AUGUST 2010