Taking part in the hearing on a government time petition over the implementation of raising the salaries and other allowances of lower court judges, three of the eight amici curiae on Sunday opposed the enactment of a law in this regard, reports UNB.
Dr Kamal Hossain, Barrister Raifique-ul Haque and AF Hasan Ariff came up with the same opinions during the hearing before a 10-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice M Muzammel Hossain, on a pending contempt of court case against the finance secretary over non-implementation of the apex court order on Judicial Service Pay Commission (JSPC) over the Masdar Hossain Case, known as the judiciary separation case.
The five other amici curiae -– TH Khan, Mahmudul Islam, Dr M Zahir, Barrister Rokon Uddin Mahmud and Taufiq Newaj -– will make their submissions on Monday.
Citing article 133 of the Constitution, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told the court that the government can enact a law to determine the salaries and allowances of the judges as they are the public servants.
Posing a question in reply, the court said why they compare the judiciary with the civil administration. “They (civil servants) get posting even though there’s no post. They can go on tour abroad six times a year, they withdraw bills after holding meetings. But they (judges) have no such facilities.”
Observing that showing a discriminatory attitude towards the judges will not be appropriate, the court asked the government whether it wants the meritorious people to join the judiciary.
It also said the government has no jurisdiction to send the court order to parliament to enact a law to determine the salaries of the judges. “It’s an order of the Supreme Court.”
Later, Dr Kamal Hossain, while submitting his expert opinion, said the court should issue a contempt of court rule if its orders are not implemented.
