HC justice 'embarrassed' to hear petition challenging legality of SC Judges Appointment Ordinance
Justice AKM Asaduzzaman, presiding judge of the bench, refused to hear the matter today as he is a member of the Supreme Judicial Council, which has been established under the ordinance.
A High Court bench today (17 March) refused to hear a writ petition on the legality of four sections of the Supreme Court Judges Appointment Ordinance-2021 as one of the justices of the bench felt 'embarrassed' due to him being a party in the petition.
The HC bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain ordered that the writ petition be sent to the chief justice for a decision on the matter.
The writ petition, challenging the legality of sections 3, 4, 6 and 9 of the ordinance, was filed with the HC on 26 February by SC lawyer Md Ajmal Hossain.
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The sections deal with the establishment of the Supreme Judicial Appointment Council; the functions of its secretary; the powers and functions of the council; and recommendation for the appointment of justices of the Appellate Division of the SC.
Justice AKM Asaduzzaman, presiding justice of the bench, refused to hear the matter today as he is a member of the Supreme Judicial Council, which has been established under the ordinance.
Senior lawyers Zainul Abedin, Ahsanul Karim and Mohammad Shishir Manir represented the petitioner in today's hearing, while Deputy Attorney General Noor Muhammad Azmi represented the state.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing Zainul Abedin said the court has asked to remove the writ petition from its task list.
"I am a party in it [the writ]. I was in the meeting as a member of the council. So, I cannot hear the petition," Justice Asaduzzaman is quoted to have said during the hearing by lawyer Zainul Abedin.
At this point, lawyer Ahsanul Karim requested the court to send the matter to the chief justice.
According to lawyers, the matter will now be sent to Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and he will fix a new bench for hearing the writ.
The law ministry on 21 January published a gazette notification on the SC Judges Appointment Ordinance containing the provision for establishing the seven-member Supreme Judicial Appointment Council led by the chief justice in order to select suitable persons for appointing justices to the Appellate and HC Divisions of the SC.
Lawyer Ajmol later, on 23 January, sent a legal notice to the ministry asking a few sections of the ordinance to be amended within three days. As no action was taken during the stipulated time, he later filed a writ petition challenging sections 3, 4, 6 and 9 of the ordinance with the HC.
The petitioner has sought a rule on why those sections should not be declared conflicting with the Constitution.
If a rule is issued, the petitioner asks to suspend the ordinance while the case is pending.
The writ petition has named two secretaries of the law ministry as respondents.
