The judgement, scheduled to come about 29 years after the brutal assassination of four national leaders who gave political leadership during the Liberation War, was adjourned one hour and 15 minutes after schedule for pronouncement, as Judge Mohammad Motiur Rahman could not turn up in court because of illness.

Syed Nazrul Islam, acting president of Bangladesh government in exile, Tajuddin Ahmed, prime minister, M Mansur Ali, finance minister, and AHM Qamaruzzaman, minister of home affairs, relief and rehabilitation, were killed inside Dhaka Central Jail on November 3, 1975.

ABM Sharfuddin Khan Mukul, lawyer for an accused-on-bail Taheruddin Thakur, submitted two petitions to Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court on Saturday in the last-minute bid to save his client that experts think will lead to further judicial tangles.

He appealed to court to visit Bangabhaban to identify the room where Taheruddin had allegedly been conspiring with former president Khondakar Mushtaque Ahmed, the alleged mastermind of the killings.

The other petition appealed to court to ask witness Saifuddin Ahmed, the then deputy superintendent of police and second investigation officer, to appear in court as he is yet to deposit his statement as an important witness.

Law enforcers kept journalists and lawyers waiting at the entry to the court near Dhaka Central Jail since morning and said they would be allowed in before the court begins at 10:30am. But the police drove away the journalists and closed the entrance minutes before schedule.

Although it was not an in-camera trial, journalists and lawyers (not involved in the case) were barred not only from the courtroom but the court premises that remained policed by Bangladesh Rifles, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), intelligence agencies and the police in the name of tightening security.

The law enforcers allowed counsels of both sides, eight of the 23 accused and their relatives into the court premises. They even permitted relatives to take in food for the accused.

The police clubbed journalists as they protested the restriction on their entry. The newspersons held a token sit-in in front of the court to protest the bar and the attack.

BEEFED-UP SECURITY
About 400 undercover and uniformed policemen guarded the court building, high-rises in the court area and Chawk Bazar, Bakshibazar and Chankharpool crossings and roads in and out of Dhaka Central Jail.

The security men allowed the vehicles of only the accused and their relatives, law enforcers and journalists and let other people go into the court area after metal detector checks. They also closed all shops close to the court.

An archway metal detector was set up at the main entrance and Rab, the dog squad and police guarded the court as part of beefed-up security measures.

ARRIVAL OF ACCUSED
Accused-on-bail Nurul Islam Manzoor went to court in a white car at 10:00am, followed by Khairuzzaman, director general of Fareast wing of the foreign ministry, in an official white microbus.

Ailing Shah Moazzem went to court in a white jeep at 10:05am, Taheruddin in a brown jeep three minutes apart and BNP lawmaker KM Obaidur Rahman in a white jeep at 10:30am.

As the accused arrived with their relatives, the security men rushed to welcome them and took them to the court premises.

Whistles filled the area and security personnel lined up from the main entrance of Dhaka Central Jail to the court entrance as a police prison van carrying Syed Faruk Rahman, Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan and Bazlul Huda came out of the jail gate at 10:53am. Shahriar looked jovial as he peeped through the van net.

Of the 23 accused, three are in custody, five on bail, 12 have been evading arrest and three died. Eleven convicts in the Bangabandhu Murder Case are among the accused.

RUMOUR AND TRUTH
Judge Mohammad Motiur Rahman who was to deliver the verdict did not go to court and empowered Additional Sessions Judge Mohammad Sirajul Islam to set a fresh date for the verdict.

Whispers have swirled since morning that the verdict would not be pronounced yesterday, but no-one was sure of it as many mistook Additional Judge Sirajul Islam for Motiur Rahman.

The decision on adjournment was first disclosed by advocate Abdul Majid Munsi, lawyer for Obaidur Rahman, Shah Moazzem and Nurul Islam, at 11:40am.

No official announcement was made for journalists until noon when the journalists blocked the way of the public prosecutor and counsels of the accused as they were leaving.

"The reason of adjournment is illness of Judge Motiur Rahman," the public prosecutor told The Daily Star.

"Five minutes before I started for court, I got a letter typed by him (Motiur) that he will not be able to come to court because of illness."

On Taheruddin's petitions, he said the petitions could not be disposed of as Judge Motiur was not in charge of court, adding: "These petitions would be disposed of by September 21, also a day for the verdict."

Advocate Mahbubur Rahman, senior counsel for the accused, said: "Judge Sirajul Islam came only to inform us on behalf of Motiur Rahman."

Asked why it took one hour and 15 minutes to announce a fresh date, he said, "He (Sirajul) needed time to consult with Judge Motiur Rahman over telephone to fix a fresh date."

JUDGE ILL AT HOME
"He (Judge Motiur Rahman) failed to go out of home due to increased blood pressure," Hayatul Haq, a court official told The Daily Star. "He has been suffering from the problem since yesterday."

"We waited until 9:45am today to see whether he can go to court," he told this correspondent at the judge's residence in Mohammadpur.