5 addl HC judges sworn in

Five additional High Court (HC) judges whose services have been regularised were sworn in this morning.

Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain administered them oath at the Supreme Court (SC) auditorium in the capital.

The five judges are: Justice Ashish Ranjan Das, Justice Md Mahmudul Haque, Justice Md Badruzzaman, Justice Zafar Ahmed and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akando.

All the judges of the appellate and HC divisions of the SC were present at the oath-taking ceremony.

In June 2012, the then president Zillur Rahman appointed six additional judges to the HC for two years.

Incumbent President Abdul Hamid approved regularising services of five of them on Sunday on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's advice, sources in the law ministry said.

Another judge Justice ABM Altaf Hossain, who was also appointed as additional judge along with the five judges, was dropped from the conformation.

Expressing disappointment over the matter, some SC lawyers told The Daily Star today that Altaf was not conformed as some people in the government were unhappy with him as he delivered few landmark judgments which went against them.

The HC bench of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice ABM Altaf Hoossain last year scraped some provision of the Contempt of Court Law and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Law which had given protection to the government officials, the lawyer said.