12 High Court judges barred from judicial duties amid protests

Twelve High Court judges who were invited to a ‘tea gathering’ by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed have been temporarily barred from performing judicial duties.

The announcement came from the Supreme Court’s Registrar General Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan on Wednesday amid protests organised by the Anti-discrimination Student Movement to press for the resignation of ‘pro-Awami League’ judges.

Advocate M Mahbubur Rahman Khan, member secretary of the Bangladesh Law Association, provided the names of 10 of the 12 judges involved. They are SM Maniruzzaman, Khandaker Diliruzzaman, Shahed Nuruddin, Md Akhtaruzzaman, Md Aminul Islam, SM Masud Hossain Dolon, Naima Haider, Ataur Rahman Khan, Khizir Hayat, and Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar.

Bhuiyan pointed out that there was no current legal framework for removing judges from the High Court.

The matter is further complicated by an upcoming hearing on Oct 20 relating to the 16^th amendment to the Constitution, which involves the procedure for dismissing judges.

He explained that since these 12 judges have neither resigned nor can be legally removed at this time, the decision has been made not to assign them to any benches, effectively suspending them from judicial activities until further notice.

Earlier, Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed had invited the 12 judges, who faced accusations of of corruption and having close ties to the ousted Awami League administration, to tea. The chief justice’s daily schedule was adjusted to accommodate the gathering.

Six of these justices—Maniruzzaman, Dilliruzzaman, Nuruddin, Akhtaruzzaman, Aminul Islam, and Masud Hossain Dolon—had reportedly met Refaat by 2pm. Later, rumours began circulating that the chief justice had placed these judges on leave.