The council headed by Chief Justice KM Hasan and two senior judges of the Supreme Court -- Ruhul Amin and Fazlul Karim -- yesterday recorded the statement of Supreme Court Bar Association President Barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud for over an hour.

The council restricted disclosure of the proceedings.

"I have to keep mum on the proceedings because they (the SJC) imposed embargo on me," said Rokan after the council meeting.

On October 1, Rokan alleged at a rally that Judge Syed Shahidur Rahman took Tk 50,000 from an accused for fixing bail in a women repression case.

President Iajuddin Ahmed directed the SJC on October 30 to probe the allegation.

Judge Shahidur submitted a written statement to the council on November 17 and denied the allegations.

The SJC will meet December 9 and record the statement of the relative of the accused, Nasim Sultana Kona, who allegedly paid the money to the judge.

Talking to press after the end of the first day's proceeding, senior lawyer Dr M Zahir said the proceedings should be made public for the sake of transparency and accountability.

"People and the media have the right to know about the proceedings," he said. "The council also holds the right to hold camera hearing. It is up to the council to decide how it wants to run the affairs. Moreover, Rokan also has the right to let the press know about his testimony before the council."

Although Rokan agreed to Dr Zahir's observations, he declined to disclose his testimony because of the council's request.