Sheikh Hasina’s government yesterday amended the constitution to restore an article to empower the legislature to remove Supreme Court judges for “misbahaviour and incapacity”, reversing her father’s decision to curtail parliament’s authority to make the judiciary “accountable.
The Awami League-led parliament unanimously passed the Constitution (Sixteenth Amendment) Bill-2014 to reinsert the article 96 of the constitution of the original 1972 constitution with a margin of 327-0 vote in the 350-strong unicameral legislature.
The passage of the law will abolish the existing Supreme Judicial Council headed by the chief justice. The Supreme Judicial Council was introduced by military ruler Ziaur Rahman in 1978.
At present, the Supreme Judicial Council can remove the apex court judges for “misbehaviour and incapacity”. Two other senior judges are the members of the council. From now on the government will investigate the alleged “misbahaviour and incapacity of the apex court judges.
The probe report would come to the legislature, which would recommend the president for the removal of the accused judges by adopting a resolution with a two-third majority. The judges in question are supposed to get chances to defend themselves.
After it comes into effect, in addition to the judges of the apex court, parliament can also remove the chief election commissioners and commissioners of the Election Commission, the chairman and the members of the Public Service Commission, chairmen and the commissioners of the Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Comptroller and Auditor General on similar grounds.
The articles establishing the Election Commission, Public Service Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General stipulate that the holders of the constitutional posts would be removed according to the procedures applicable to the removal of the Supreme Court judges.
On January 25, 1975, the Awami League-led parliament of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman carried out a massive overhaul of the constitution to introduce the presidential form of government, vesting the legislature’s power of removing the judges in the president who became the centre of all power.
The Awami League moved to restore the original article 96 of the constitution terming the Supreme Judicial Council against the basic principle of the state.
Defending the bill, law minister Anisul Huq told parliament that making the judiciary accountable to the legislature would in no way result in the interference into the independence of the judiciary.
How the sitting starts
The House started at 7.02 pm with the Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair. At the outset, 295 out of the total 350 MPs turned up in the sitting. The presence shot up to 323 as the House proceeded to pass the 16th constitution amendment bill.
The House first had a 30-minute question-answer session for the prime minister. The speaker then suspended all other businesses of the House and asked the law minister to propose adoption of the bill as recommended by the parliamentary standing committee on law ministry.
The speaker then gave floors to the MPs proposing to send the bill to elicit public opinion and send the same to the parliament’s Select Committee for a delay in the passage.
JaPa chairman HM Ershad and his MPs Kazi Feroz Rashid, Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu, Abdul Hannan, Roushan Ara Mannan, Peer Fazlur Rahman, Nurul Islam Mion, (JaPa), Yahiya Chowdhury, Mayeen Uddin Khan Badal of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, SM Abul Kalam Azad of the Bangladesh Nationalist Front, independent MPs Rustum Ali Farazi, Tahjib Alam Siddiqui, and Hazi Mohammad Selim spoke in favour of their demand for eliciting public opinion and send the bill to the parliament’s Select Committee.
The proposal was then put into vote. The voice vote rejected the proposals.
The JaPa MPs including the opposition leader Rawshan and Ershad shouted “no” like the Awami League MPs.
Next came the discussion on the amendment proposals of the MPs.
Besides, the aforesaid MPs, Workers’ Party lawmakers Fazle Hossain
Badsha, Mustafa Lutfullah, Tipu Sultan, Sheikh Hafizur Rahman and Yasin Ali, Nazmul Haque Pradhan and Shirin Akhter of the Jatiya Samajtatrik Dal spoke in favour of their amendment proposals.
The speaker then gave floor to the law minister to respond. Anisul Huq declined to accept the amendment proposals.
As parliamentary rule, the speaker put the proposals into vote and a big “no” trashed the amendment proposals.
The speaker then asked the MPs to sign documents kept at the lobbies showing their consent to the contents of the bill and amendment proposals. She once asked the MPs to sign another documents substantiating the passage of the constitution amendment law.
The House then shouted with huge “yes” as the speaker urged the MPs to say “yes” if they wanted the bill to be passed. The procedure for the passage of the bill started at 7:40pm and ended at 11:10pm.
According to the directives of the Supreme Court, the Awami League government on June 30, 2011 passed the 15th constitution amendment law to restore the provisions of the original constitution framed in 1972. The constitution dropped the provision of non-party caretaker government for holding the general elections.
Many of the MPs demanded restoration of the original 96 of the constitution, empowering the legislature to impeach the apex judges for misconducts and inabilities.
But the government refrained from doing so, apparently not to antagonize the judiciary.
On June 5, 2012, the Jatiya Sangsad and the judiciary had a face off over the comment of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury who ruled that the then Speaker and now President Abdul Hamid committed “seditious offence” by making a comment on the judiciary.
The constitution stipulates that no court can take the proceedings into congnisance.
The MPs then demanded the govern amend the constitution to make the judiciary accountable to the legislature. But the Awami League government refrained from doing so.
The speaker gave a ruling and said the Chief Justice should decide about it. But nothing happened.
Tasked by the parliamentary standing committee on law ministry, the law commission in April sent a set of proposals to speed up the disposal of the pending cases.
That proposal said the government should restore the article 96 of constitution to make the judges accountable.
In line with the law commission, the authorised body to suggest the government on legal reform, the cabinet approved the proposal to restore the article 96 of the 1972 constitution.
