Bangladesh Supreme Court won't rehear most of 168 settled cases

The Supreme Court yesterday said it would not hold rehearing on most of the 168 cases in which former chief justice Md Muzammel Hossain and former SC judge AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik wrote judgments and orders after their retirement.

A few of the cases might be heard again if deemed necessary, said a four-member bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha.

But all judgments and orders delivered in the 168 cases will remain upheld, according to the suo moto order of the SC.

The full texts of those will be released in a month, the chief justice said. 

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told reporters at his office that there was no possibility of changing the judgments and orders even if a few of the cases were reheard.

The full texts will be released within the time in order to alleviate the sufferings of the litigants, he said. 

The chief justice's decision to not allow judges to write judgments and orders after retirement will help expedite the delivery of judgments and ensure justice to litigants earlier, the attorney general said, adding that the move was not intended to undermine anybody.

The apex court decided to rehear the cases last month, about three months after the chief justice said writing judgments or orders after retirement was unconstitutional.

On the occasion of the first anniversary of his taking office on January 19, he said some judges made unusual delays in writing verdicts while others continued to stretch the time into retirement, “which goes against the law and the constitution”.

Former chief justice Muzammel retired on January 16 last year and Justice Manik on October 1.

The 168 cases include an appeal linked with the Warrant of Precedence of the republic, SC sources said.

On January 11 last year, the SC disposed of the appeal, “with expunction, modification, observation and findings”, against a 2010 High Court order that declared illegal and void the existing Warrant of Precedence formulated in 1986 and revised in 2008.

An Appellate Division bench headed by the then chief justice Md Muzammel Hossain passed the short verdict, now available on the SC website.

The Warrant of Precedence is used for all government purposes including ceremonial occasions.