Three HC justices, who were barred from activities for 5 years, step down

Three justices of the High Court (HC) division, who were barred from performing judicial activities on charges of graft and misconduct for the last five years, have resigned from their posts.

A notification, signed by the Secretary (current duty) to the Ministry of Law Sheikh Abu Taher, was issued in this regard on Tuesday, reports UNB.

The notification reads the justices wrote to the President regarding their resignation following section 96 (4) of the Constitution and the President received their resignation letters.

The justices preferred stepping down despite the Supreme Judicial Council being brought back to handle the impeachment of judges.

The justices are Salma Masud Chowdhury, Quazi Reza-Ul-Hoque and AKM Zahirul Hoque.

Though the justices had been barred from the activities, they enjoyed all facilities including protocols.

It was learned that the then Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain decided to keep the three justices out of functions on account of the corruption and misconduct allegations against after consulting with the President over the matter in 2019.

Recently, the Supreme Judicial Council has started an investigation against 15 judges of the High Court who are out of the judiciary over alleged professional misconduct, including corruption and irregularity.

Among them, there are 12 judges who were kept out of judiciary activities in the face of the demands of the Anti-Discrimination Student Activists on 17 October.