Law Reporters' Forum serves mango, jackfruit and latkan at annual fruit festival

The Law Reporters' Forum (LRF), the organisation of journalists who cover law, justice, the constitution and human rights in Bangladesh, held its annual fruit festival on Sunday, 19 July 2026. Mango, jackfruit, latkan (Burmese grape), guava, pineapple and other local seasonal fruits were served at the LRF office in the Supreme Court Bar Association building in Dhaka. According to reports in Jagonews24 and the Daily Inqilab, about 250 people took part, among them judges, lawyers, judicial officers and law reporters.

Supreme Court judges, senior lawyers, judicial officers of various courts, people from the legal field and law journalists from print, television and online media attended. The guests tasted the seasonal fruits and exchanged views.

The judges present included Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore, Justice Md Khasruzzaman, Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder, Justice Biswajit Debnath, Justice Md Bashir Ullah and retired Justice MR Hassan. The Supreme Court administration was represented by acting Registrar General Md Nurul Amin Biplob, Appellate Division Registrar Ashikul Khabir and High Court Division Registrar (Judicial) Mohammad Shorifur Rahman. Bar Council Vice-Chairman Zainul Abedin, International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam and Supreme Court Bar Secretary Mohammad Ali were among the senior lawyers, deputy attorneys general and assistant attorneys general who attended. Former Dhaka Reporters Unity president Elias Hossain and several former LRF presidents and general secretaries were also there.

The festival was held under the direction of LRF President Muhammad Yasin and General Secretary Arafat Munna, who were elected in early July 2026. It was organised by forum Vice-President Abu Saleh Rony, convener of the fruit festival sub-committee, and forum Joint Secretary Tanvir Ahmed, its member secretary.

According to both reports, the guests said the Law Reporters' Forum plays an important role in building communication, trust and goodwill between the judiciary, the lawyers and the media. In their view, the forum has long worked to bring news of the courts and the judiciary accurately to the public, and contributes to transparency, accountability and public awareness in the legal sector. They said they hoped it would continue its work with the same dedication and professionalism.

The fruits served were local seasonal fruits. Jackfruit is the national fruit of Bangladesh: a sweet, yellow-fleshed summer fruit whose trees grow all over the country. The mango tree is the national tree of Bangladesh, and the mango is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh and eastern and northeastern India.

Latkan (Baccaurea motleyana) is a sweet-and-sour fruit that grows in clusters and usually ripens in the Bengali months of Asharh and Shraban. Once counted among the country's lesser-known fruits, it is grown most in Narsingdi district, and is also farmed commercially in Sylhet, Netrokona, Mymensingh, Tangail and Gazipur. On 30 April 2025, Narsingdi latkan received geographical indication (GI) status; the Narsingdi district administration had applied for it in 2023.

Photo: Shahnoor Habib Munmun / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

Sources: Jagonews24, Daily Inqilab, NTV Online, Wikipedia (Jackfruit, Latkan, Mango)