Three new judges appointed to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court took oath yesterday.
Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha administered the oath to the three new judges – Justice Mirza Hussain Haider, Justice Md Nizamul Huq, and Justice Mohammad Bazlur Rahman – at Supreme Court Judges’ Lounge at 10am.
With them, the number of Appellate Division judges is now nine. On Sunday, the Law Ministry issued a gazette notification on the promotion of the High Court division judges after President Md Abdul Hamid promoted them.
Following the oath taking, the chief justice also reconstituted two benches of the Appellate Division.
Now, the court 1, led by the Chief Justice Sinha is comprised of Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Mohammad Bazlur Rahman; while another bench led by Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah is comprised with Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana, Justice Md Imman Ali and Justice Md Nizamul Huq, said High Court Additional Registrar M Sabbir Foyez.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Khandker Mahbub Hossain yesterday alleged that two of the three judges had been appointed to the Appellate Division superseding 30 High Court judges.
In a press conference at the SCBA auditorium, he demanded the government formulates a guideline immediately for appointing Supreme Court judges and said the SCBA would protest if any judge is appointed before its formulation.
“Justice Md Nizamul Huq and Justice Mohammad Bazlur Rahman were appointed superseding 30 High Court judges,” he told reporters, adding that the Supreme Court lawyers did not know under which consideration the government superseded the judges.
“Now, a question may be raised in people’s mind for the appointments, which would not be raised if there is any guideline for appointment of the Supreme Court judges,” he said.
On the other hand, Attorney General Mahbubey Alalm told reporters that no supersession took place in promoting the three judges to the Appellate Division, as the two judges were appointed in 2001 but they were not confirmed by then BNP government despite recommendation of the then chief justice.
The attorney general’s office also held a reception for the newly appointed appeals judges.
There, the attorney general said the injustice faced by Justice Nizamul and Justice Bazlur during the BNP-led government has ended with their appointment to the appeals court.
If they were confirmed following the chief justice’s recommendation, judges would get seniority and no question should be raised, he said.
