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{{Short description|Indian politician (1940-2014)}}
{{Other people|Rahmatullah}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Muhammad Rahmatullah
| native_name = মোহাম্মদ রহমত উললাহ
| native_name_lang =
| image = Portrait Rahmatullah 1950s.jpg
| imagesize = 220
| caption = Young Ullah
| order =
| office = [[Chief Engineer]]<br />[[Public Works Department]]
| term_start = 1986
| term_end = 1988
| president = [[Hussain Muhammad Ershad]]
| office2 = Chairman<br />[[Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK)|Capital Development Authority]]
| term_start2 = 1989
| term_end2 = 1992
| president2 = [[Hussain Muhammad Ershad]]
| primeminister = [[Khaleda Zia]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1940|06|13}}
| birth_place = [[Rajshahi]], [[British India]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| spouse =
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater = [[Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology]]
| occupation = Engineer
| profession =
| signature =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Mian Muhammad Rahmatullah''', ({{lang-bn|মোহাম্মদ রহমত উললাহ}}, 13 June 1940 – 2014) was a former [[East Pakistan]]i and later Bangladeshi [[bureaucrat]] and politician. He was the former [[Chief Engineer]] of the [[Public Works Department]] and later the chairman of the [[Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK)|Capital Development Authority]] of the Government of Bangladesh. In 2000, he was an electoral candidate from [[Natore|Natore Area]] for the [[Jatiyo Sangshad|Parliament of Bangladesh]].<ref>ecs.gov.bd [http://www.ecs.gov.bd/English/PrintElection.php?&electionid=8&party=1&PartyName=Independent&id=partywise Bangladesh Election Commission Candidacy List] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008130133/http://www.ecs.gov.bd/English/PrintElection.php?&electionid=8&party=1&PartyName=Independent&id=partywise |date=8 October 2017 }}</ref>

In 1991, after former military dictator [[Hussain Muhammad Ershad|General Ershad]] stepped down as the [[President of Bangladesh]], Rahmatullah was charged in the infamous [[Janata Tower Case]] and named the third defendant after the President and the former First Lady (and Member of Parliament) by the [[Supreme Court of Bangladesh]].<ref>Government of Bangladesh [http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/arshad.html Presidential Palace Information] {{Webarchive|url=https://www.webcitation.org/68a5ogr3Q?url=http://www.bangabhaban.gov.bd/arshad.html |date=21 June 2012 }} ''Former Military dictator’s Parliamentary seat vacated due to Janata Tower Case''</ref><ref>Chancery Law Chronicles [http://www.clcbd.org/search/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2940&Itemid=82 The Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Appellate Division] "MA Sattar and others Vs. State, 2008, 37 CLC"</ref> He was later acquitted when the judge agreed that the case was filed on political grounds by the newly elected [[Bangladesh Awami League|ruling party]].<ref>News Network [http://www.newsnetwork-bd.com/UI/Public/NewsDetail.php?LogID=16462 Janata Tower case SC upholds First Lady’s conviction] "High Court Issue on 13 November", 2008</ref>

He was the husband of [[Gole Afroz]] of the aristocratic [[Singranatore family]]; the grand daughter of [[Jalaluddin Mirza]], a [[Zamindar of Natore]] and was instrumental in building the [[Gole Afroz College]] which was named after his wife.<ref>GuleAfrozCollege ''Prathista Porichiti 1996'' page 29</ref>

==Early life and education==
Rahmatullah was born to an eminent landholding Muslim family called the ''Mandals'' and the clan gave name to the town of origin, Mondolpara (meaning "area of the Mandals" in [[Bengali language|Bengali]]) in [[Natore]], then part of [[British India]]. The Mondol family were chiefs of the [[Mandal]]s or small estates of the [[British Raj|Raj]].

After being educated around [[Rajshahi]], he graduated from the [[BUET|Ahsanullah College of Engineering]] in [[Dacca]] with a BS in Civil Engineering and became a public official during the [[East Pakistan]] Provincial Government, where he served as a Divisional Engineer before becoming the [[Superintendent (construction)|Superintending Engineer]]. He served throughout the [[Bangladesh Liberation War|1971 War of Liberation]] and then joined the government service of independent [[Bangladesh]].

==Career==
[[File:Ullah and Carter Dacca Tarmac.jpg|thumb|Receiving U.S. President [[Jimmy Carter]] in [[Dacca]]]]
[[File:Rohmotulah embraces arafaat.jpg|left|thumb|Receiving Palestinian President [[Yasser Arafat]].]]
After graduating from the Engineering School, he witnessed the [[Partition of India|partitioning of India and Pakistan in 1947]] (? Does this mean he graduated at 7 years old?), where the responsibility of engineering and construction work for the Central [[Government of Pakistan]] was vested in the Central Public Works Department. The Communication and Building Directorate (C&B), which existed at the time, was entrusted with all construction work for the Provincial Government of the then East Pakistan. After the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, the country inherited two separate organizations for the construction and maintenance of Government Buildings: the Central PWD and the Buildings Directorate of the Provincial Government. These two entities were merged into one department in 1977 to form the Public Works Department (PWD) of which he became the appointed Executive ([[Chief Engineer]]) before becoming the Agency Chief (chairman) of [[Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK)]] which was then known as ''Dhaka Improvement Trust'' since 1956 and sat at the [[RAJUK Bhaban]] in the capital city of Dhaka.

===Charges===
On 14 April 1991, the [[Anti Corruption Commission Bangladesh|Bureau of Anti-Corruption]] sued the [[President of Bangladesh]], his wife [[Rowshan Ershad]] and the Chief of RAJUK, M.M. Rahmatullah. In September 1989, it was alleged that him and the former President [[Hussain Muhammad Ershad]] in collusion with each other dishonestly and fraudulently with malafide intention helped to illegally get public land in their favour and then helped private executives to get 12 [[Katha (unit)|kathas]] of land at a negligible sum causing loss to RAJUK amounting to [[Bangladeshi taka|BDT]] 54,870,900 to obtain advantage for themselves. All other accused acted illegally in collusion with each other thereby abusing their position as public servants (as President of Bangladesh and appointed chief of a public agency) which is punishable under section 109 of the ''Bangladesh Penal Code'' and section 5(2) of the ''Prevention of Corruption Act'', 1947.

The officials were sentenced to simple imprisonment for seven years, at which point an appeal was made. The [[High Court]] Division heard the appeal, along with others and dismissed the appeal with modification of the sentence from simple imprisonment of seven years to a sentence of fine of Taka 10,000 each, in default, to suffer for two years in prison each and maintained the order of confiscation of the landed property.<ref>Chancery Law Chronicles [http://www.clcbd.org/search/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2940&Itemid=82 The Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Appellate Division] "MA Sattar and others Vs. State, 2008, 37 CLC"</ref>

===Cases===
[[File:President Hussain Muhammad Ershad and Rahmatullah review of Cosntruction plans and civil drawings.jpg|right|thumb|Discussing bridge designs with Bangladesh President [[Hussein Muhammad Ershad]].]]
In the case of ''State Vs. M.M Rahmatullah'', the High Court Division of the [[Supreme Court of Bangladesh]] expressed its opinion on Article 7 (2) of the [[Constitution of Bangladesh|Bangladesh Passport Order, 1973]] that apprehension on the part of the authority seizing the passport that the holder of the passport will not return to Bangladesh, if he is allowed to leave the country was not a ground for impounding of a passport of a citizen who wants to leave the country for medical check up and treatment. This argument can be applied to many identical situations. Right to travel abroad is a fundamental right as recognized in Article 36 of the Bangladeshi Constitution.

It was noted that the [[Supreme Court of India]] has taken a similar view in the case of ''Satwant Singh Vs. D. Ramarathnam'', Assistant Passport Officer, New Delhi and others, AIR 1967 (SC) 1836 wherein it has been observed
that withdrawal of a passport given to an individual violates Articles 21 and 14 of [[Constitution of India|Indian Constitution]].<ref>[http://www.banglarights.net/HTML/civilrights-05.htm Human Rights in Bangladesh] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406025312/http://www.banglarights.net/HTML/civilrights-05.htm |date=6 April 2012 }}</ref>

===Implications===
[[File:General Hussain Muhammad Ershad and Rahmatullah site plan.jpg|left|thumb|Analyzing the site with the [[President of Bangladesh]], General Ershad.]]
The Supreme Court has upheld the High Court ruling of jail and fines in the 'much-publicised' Janata Tower graft case against former first lady Raushan Ershad and Rahmatullah. Raushan's husband, the former president, however, had been convicted of the charges and sentenced of five years in prison.

After three and a half years in prison, the Appellate Division maintained the fine but relieved Ershad from serving out the remaining one and a half years. As a result, the chief of [[Bangladesh Jatiya Party]] could not participate in the 2001 Elections.<ref>[http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/12/15/d6121501011.htm HC rejects Ershad's appeal, hands him 2yrs behind bars] [[The Daily Star (Bangladesh)|Daily Star]]</ref> He along with the former First Lady were later acquitted when the Judge agreed that the case was filed on political grounds by the newly elected [[Bangladesh Awami League|ruling party]] and he went on to contest elections representing Singra constituency in 2001 even though the former president could not. He was defeated by the alliances of BAL and BNP parties. He retired and permanently quit politics in 2002.

==Family, later life and political career==
He unsuccessfully contested the seat of [[Natore-3]] constituency as a Member of Parliament to [[Jatiyo Sangshad]] (The National Assembly) of the [[People's Republic of Bangladesh]] in the [[2001 Bangladeshi general election|Eighth National Parliamentary Elections of 2001]].

He married Begum [[Gole Afroz]] and had four daughters and three sons.

==See also==
{{Commons category}}
* ''[[Loh Wai Kong v. Government of Malaysia]]''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
| last1 = Chacko | first1 = C. P.
| title = Asian news digest: a weekly record on governance, economy, development, human rights, and environment, Volume 2
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GZ8UAQAAIAAJ&q=janata+tower+case&dq=janata+tower+case&hl=en&redir_esc=y
| publisher = Asian News Chroniclers
| year= 2001
| pages = 1090
}}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Ahmed | first1 = Salahuddin
| title = Bangladesh: Past and Present
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Szfqq7ruqWgC&pg=PA231&dq=janata+tower+case&hl=en&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=janata%20tower%20case&f=false
| publisher = APH Publishing Corporation
|date=December 2004
| pages = 231

| isbn = 978-8176484695}}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Keesing
| title = Keesing's record of world events, Volume 46
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Szfqq7ruqWgC&pg=PA231&dq=janata+tower+case&hl=en&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=janata%20tower%20case&f=false
| publisher = [[Longman]]
| year= 2000
}}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Report
| title = Country report: Bangladesh
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TckbAQAAMAAJ&q=janata+tower+case&dq=janata+tower+case&hl=en&redir_esc=y
| publisher = [[Economist Intelligence Unit]]
| year= 2001
| pages = 15
}}
* {{cite book
| last1 = Thomas | first1 = K. K.
| title = Asian recorder, Volume 39, Issue 1
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dYptAAAAMAAJ&q=janata+tower+case&dq=janata+tower+case&hl=en&redir_esc=y
| publisher = Recorder Press
| year= 1993
| pages = 23248
}}
* [http://dodreports.com/pdf/ada343667.pdf Rahmatullah and Case] US Intelligence Report from [[Foreign Broadcast Information Service]] 16 July 1992

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahmatullah, M. M.}}
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi politicians]]
[[Category:Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology alumni]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi engineers]]

M. M. Rahmatullah - Revision history

>CommonsDelinker: Replacing Portraitrahmatullah1950s.jpg with File:Portrait_Rahmatullah_1950s.jpg (by CommonsDelinker because: File renamed: more clear).