Lawyer demands an unconditional written apology within seven days over alleged misconduct at court premises; Film Artistes’ Association urged to take disciplinary action
Actress Shamsunnahar Smriti, popularly known as Pori Moni, has been served with a legal notice over allegations of harassing journalists and disrespecting Bangladesh’s national anthem.
Supreme Court lawyer Hasan Shahriar sent the notice on Sunday, November 8, 2026. The president and general secretary of the Bangladesh Film Artistes’ Association have also been named as recipients of the notice.
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The notice asks Pori Moni to issue an unconditional written apology within seven days for the incident at the court premises. It also urges her to refrain from obscene remarks, dialogue, threats, performances and gestures, as well as nude or semi-nude dancing. It further calls on her not to produce or display such content through films, videos, audio-visual productions, photographs, graphics or other media if it has no artistic or educational value.
The notice also requests the association’s president and general secretary to issue a show-cause notice to Pori Moni and take appropriate disciplinary action against her within seven days. It warns that legal action may follow if these demands are not met.
According to the notice, Pori Moni surrendered before a court and secured bail on November 5, 2026, in a case filed by businessman Nasir Uddin Mahmud. At around 11:40am that day, journalists attempted to take her photographs and videos as she got out of her vehicle and headed towards the courtroom. A scuffle reportedly broke out between journalists and her security personnel.
The notice alleges that Pori Moni took away the mobile phone of Robiul Hossain, a multimedia reporter for Samakal. It also claims that her security personnel damaged the tripod used by the journalist to record video.
The notice further claims that several journalists were injured during the altercation. They were identified as Ashikuzzaman, a reporter for Jago News; Abdullah Al Kawsar, a multimedia reporter; Siam Hossain of Agamir Shomoy; and Shah Riaz of Times Today. A court petitioner named Sujan Chandra Moni Das was also reportedly injured, with media reports saying his head was cut and bleeding.
The notice states that ensuring the safety of everyone on court premises is the responsibility of the state and the administration. It argues that private security personnel cannot be allowed to control the court environment or display muscle power.
It also alleges that after leaving the court, Pori Moni moved aggressively towards Samakal reporter Robiul Hossain, verbally abused him and threatened to kill him. The notice points out that Robiul has a congenital condition affecting his right hand, which is missing three fingers and cannot be used normally. It adds that videos of the incident were broadcast by various media outlets.
According to the lawyer, such conduct towards a professional journalist undermines his professional dignity and threatens the environment necessary for independent journalism and the free exercise of media responsibilities.
Separately, the notice alleges that Pori Moni published an obscene post on her verified Facebook page on November 6, using Bangladesh’s national anthem as background music. It says the matter was reported by various media outlets and drew criticism on social media.
