Justices can be removed by Supreme Judicial Council: SC

The Supreme Court has upheld the Appellate Division’s decision allowing the removal of the court’s justices through the use of a Supreme Judicial Council, according to bdnews24.com.

The state had petitioned for the review of the 2017 decision declaring the 16th Amendment to the Constitution illegal. A bench of six Appellate Division justices led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed made the decision after a hearing on Sunday.

Now, if a judge proves unable to perform their duties or a complaint of professional misconduct is raised, action can be taken through a Supreme Judicial Council.

Lawyers believe the decision on the review verdict has resolved the complications that arose during the previous government’s reign on the process for the removal of judges.

During the previous Awami League government, parliament was given the power to remove judges through the 16th Amendment to the Constitution. This led to tensions between the government and the Supreme Court.

In 2017, the Appellate Division decided the 16th Amendment was illegal and declared it null and void in a writ case. The judgment then revived the Supreme Court Judicial Council for the removal of judges.

The decision of the Appellate Bench led by then chief justice SK Sinha raised the tension between the judiciary and the government.

The state then petitioned for a review of the decision, but did not take the initiative to hold a hearing on the matter.

Though there was nothing preventing the formation of a judicial council to remove a judge, none was formed in the past seven years due to the Awami League government’s differing views on the matter and the pending review.

As a result, despite allegations of corruption against three High Court judges, no action was taken on the matter.

After the fall of the Awami League government, the Anti-discrimination Student Movement has demanded the removal of pro-Awami League ‘partisan’ judges. The chief justice decided to bar 12 judges from sitting on a bench following a student protest that besieged the Supreme Court.

This revived the issue of the pending 16th Amendment case hearing. The petition was then put on the cause list of the court on Sunday.

Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman stood for the state while Advocate Manzil Morshed represented the writ petitioner at the hearing. Senior lawyer Md Ruhul Quddus was also part of the hearing with the approval of the court.

Afterwards, Quddus told the media that the 16th Amendment repealed clauses 2-8 of Article 96 of the Constitution. But now the Appellate Division has reinstated them.

In his immediate reaction after the hearing, BNP Legal Affairs Secretary Kayser Kamal called the verdict a ‘historic’ one.