Chief justice describes ‘we want justice’ slogan as verdict pronounced in public square

Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed on Wednesday termed July uprising’s slogan ‘we want justice’ as a verdict pronounced in the public square.

He said, “We must speak of July and August 2024, the months that shook our nation's conscience awake. When lawlessness spread like wildfire, when state institutions were captured, including the judiciary and repurposed to serve a narrow few, when the cries of the oppressed echoed louder than court judgments, the people took to the streets.

In every square of Dhaka, in the heart of Ramna and the heart of Shahbagh and Shahid Minar, young voices rose with a single, firm cry--- ‘We Want Justice’. It was not a slogan. It was a verdict pronounced not in courtrooms, but in the public square.”

He made the comment in a felicitation ceremony held at the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Wednesday.

SCBA organised the felicitation programme for the Chief Justice as he was awarded a “lifetime honorary fellowship” by the University of Oxford in the UK.

The Chief Justice further said, “It was this uprising of moral clarity that led to the fall of a regime that had weaponised the law and compromised the soul of justice. For the first time in our history, the judiciary was not spared scrutiny. The very foundations of judicial legitimacy were questioned by the people we are meant to serve.

“It was from that fire that my appointment emerged, not as a ceremonial elevation, but as a solemn mandate. I was not chosen by accident, nor appointed for prestige. I was summoned by the moral energy of a people who demanded that the judiciary be rebuilt with courage, truth, and accountability.”

He said, “Justice is not a destination, it is a discipline. A discipline we must renew each day, with conscience, with sacrifice, and with humility. The revolution that restored dignity to this office is not over. It was a catalyst at renewal with renewed vigour. The future of our judiciary, and indeed our country, will be defined not by words declared from this podium, but by how faithfully we serve the people who gave us this chance.”

Appellate Division judges, Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, former Speaker of the National Parliament, Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar and former SCBA President Zainul Abedin attended the programme as honourable speakers.

SCAB President Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon presided over the programme, while its acting General Secretary Barrister Mahfuzur Rahmand Milon conducted it.

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