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Sayem, (Justice) Abusadat Mohammad (1916-1997) President
of Bangladesh. Abusadat Mohammad Sayem was born on 29 March 1916
in Rangpur. He had his school education at Rangpur Zila School, College
education at Carmichael College, Rangpur, and Presidency College, Calcutta.
He became a law graduate from the University Law College, Calcutta. He
was enrolled as an advocate of the Calcutta High Court in 1944. After
partition of India in 1947 and setting up of a high
court in Dhaka he shifted his practice to the Dhaka High Court
and worked as a junior of veteran advocate Sher-e-Bangla ak
fazlul huq.
Sayem was elected secretary and subsequently vice-president of
the Dhaka High Court Bar Association. He was a sponsor member
of the East Pakistan Lawyers' Association and was elected secretary,
general secretary and vice-president of the said organisation
for different terms. He was also elected a member of the local
Board of the State Bank of Pakistan, Dhaka. He was a member of
the East Pakistan Bar Council till his elevation to the Bench.
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Abusadat Mohammad Sayem |
On 3 July 1962, Sayem was appointed a judge of the High
Court of judicature in East Pakistan. In 1967, he was appointed a member
of the Commission of Enquiry for finding out the causes of exodus and
eviction of the members of the minority community. He was again appointed
a member of the new Enquiry Commission formed for the same purpose. He
was a member of the Delimitation Commission (1970) for delimitation of
the constituencies, and had subsequently been a member of the election
commission.
After liberation of the country Justice AM Sayem was
appointed the first Chief Justice of the High Court of Bangladesh on 12
January 1972, and after the formation of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh
on 17 December 1972, he was appointed the Chief Justice of Bangladesh.
Justice Sayem assumed the office of President and Chief Martial Law Administrator
on 6 November 1975. He relinquished the office of the Chief Martial Law
Administrator on 29 November 1976 and office of the President on 21 April
1977.
Besides being the author of the book At Bangabhaban: Last Phase (1988) he had delivered many important judgments laying down the law. His most important judgment is in the Berubari Case in which cession of southern half of South Berubari union and the adjacent enclaves to India in exchange for Dahagram and Angarpota enclaves to Bangladesh under an agreement signed by the Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh on May 1974 was challenged. Following that judgement Third Amendment to the constitution was made to give effect to the agreement. Justice Sayem died in Dhaka on 8 July 1997. [Kazi Ebadul Hoque]
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