The Apex court of the country has upheld a 2004 presidential order to remove then additional High Court judge Syed Sahidur Rahman from his office.
Following this order, Sahidur cannot sit in the High Court bench for judicial function as a judge.
A four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha Wednesday scrapped the High Court order that had declared his removal “illegal.”
Then president Iajuddin Ahmed removed Sahidur from his post on April 20, 2004 as per the Supreme Judicial Council’s recommendation on allegation of a bail fixing.
In a writ petition, Sahidur challenged the decision on February 2, 2005, following which the presidential order had been declared illegal. Later Supreme Court lawyer Idrisur Rahman filed a public interest litigation with the Appellate Division challenging the High Court verdict.
After Wednesday's order, Idrisur told reporters that six months into Sahidur's appointment as an additional High Court judge, the then Supreme Court Bar Association president Rokon Uddin Mahmud brought the allegation against him at a lawyer’s meeting in October 2003.
Later a three-member Supreme Judicial Council headed by then chief justice KM Hasan inquired the allegation and submitted a report to the president with recommendation of his removal.
During the hearing, Dr Kamal Hossain appeared for Idrisur while Sahidur represented himself.