Constitutional provision on president appointing SC judges challenged in court

A Supreme Court lawyer today filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging the legality of constitutional provisions that empowered the president to appoint SC judges and control the lower court judges.

Advocate Eunus Ali Akond submitted the petition praying to the HC to declare Article 95 (2) and 116 of the Constitution illegal.

Article 95 (2) of the Constitution has empowered the president to appoint SC judges in consultation with the chief justice and Article 116 has allowed the president to give appointment of lower court judges and to promote them and granting their leave, he said in the petition.

The president acts on advice from the prime minister under Article 48 (3) of the Constitution and therefore, the president is not independent, he said.

The authority to appoint the SC judges and to control the lower court judges should be vested to the SC, under the Constitution and in line with the SC judgement in Masdar Hossain case, he said in the petition.

Akond told The Daily Star that he will pray to the HC to hold a hearing on the petition on next Sunday.