The High Court has asked the government why the 16th Constitutional Amendment empowering Parliament to remove top judges should not be declared illegal and scrapped.
A joint bench of Justices Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Md Ashraful Kamal issued the ruling Sunday after a primary hearing on a plea by eight lawyers.
The latest Amendment came into effect on Sept 22, five days after it was passed in Parliament amid strong opposition from political parties and a section of lawyers.
They alleged the move was aimed at establishing the government’s control over the judiciary.
Advocate Manzill Murshid, who challenged the amendment on Nov 5, represented the plaintiffs while Deputy Attorney General Motahar Hossain Saju stood for the state.
Secretaries to the Cabinet, President’s office, Prime Minister’s Office, Law and Parliament Secretariat have been ordered to reply within two weeks.
The court also fixed Nov 26 for the next hearing.
Murshid told reporters that though the Supreme Court had scrapped the martial law ordinance, it had preserved Article 96 that deals with removing judges through the Supreme Judicial Council. It was also included in the reprinted Constitution.
“But suddenly the 16th Amendment Bill was passed and was published as a gazette notification on Sept 22,” he said.
The plaintiffs suspect the latest amendment was aimed at “curbing the judiciary’s freedom” after the court scrapped parts of the contempt of court Act, amended Anti-Corruption Commission Act and ordered arrests of Narayanganj’s multiple murder accused.
State counsel Saju said, “I’ve told the court that the Amendment has not been passed into law. And hence, a writ [hearing] cannot take place at this stage. The matter will be clear once it is enacted into law.”
He said the court issued the ruling when he sought time, saying it would hear the defendants’ depositions later.
Source: bdnews24
