The Appellate Division has disposed of the review petition against its ruling, which declared the 16th Amendment to the Constitution—granting members of Parliament the power to remove judges—as illegal and void.
As a result, lawyers have confirmed that the power to remove judges of the higher courts has now returned to the "Supreme Judicial Council."
The full bench of the Appellate Division, consisting of six members and led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, declared the order on Sunday.
If any allegations of incompetence or professional misconduct arise against a judge, an investigation can be conducted through the Supreme Judicial Council to take appropriate action.
On August 15, the Appellate Division announced it would reconsider the verdict that scrapped the 16th amendment. The hearing on the state’s review petition was scheduled for the last week of October.
In the original 1972 constitution, the power to remove judges was vested in the National Parliament. However, the 4th amendment in 1975 transferred this authority to the president.
Later, during Ziaur Rahman’s regime, the 5th amendment shifted this power to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).
On September 17, 2014, the 16th amendment abolished the chief justice-led SJC and restored Parliament’s authority to remove judges. However, on November 5, 2014, a group of Supreme Court lawyers challenged the amendment.
The High Court issued a rule on the amendment on November 9, 2014. After a hearing on May 5, 2016, the High Court declared the amendment illegal based on the majority opinion.
The government appealed against the High Court verdict in 2017.
