Supreme Judicial Council sends probe report to president on 'some' HC judges

The three-member Supreme Judicial Council led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed completed an investigation about some High Court judges and sent its report to the president last week for a decision, Supreme Court Spokesperson Muajjem Hussain told The Daily Star today.

He however could not reveal the contents of the report.

"The Supreme Judicial Council sent the report to President Mohammed Shahabuddin. I don't know the names and number of High Court judges about whom the Supreme Judicial Council has conducted the probe. The president is yet to give any feedback to the report," Muajjem Hussain said.

The other members of the Supreme Judicial Council are senior judges of the Appellate Division Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury.

Twelve High Court judges are currently without benches after over 1,000 students demonstrated on the SC premises on October 16 demanding removal of the "pro-Awami League fascist judges".

On that day, SC Registrar General Aziz Ahmed told the protesters that 12 judges will not be assigned benches. Following this statement, the agitating students postponed their demonstrations.

The 12 HC judges — Justice Md Ataur Rahman Khan, Justice Naima Haider, Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif, Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar, Justice Ashish Ranjan Das, Justice Khizir Hayat, Justice SM Maniruzzaman, Justice Khandaker Diliruzzaman, Justice Md Akhtaruzzaman, Justice Shahed Nuruddin, Justice Md Aminul Islam, and Justice SM Masud Hossain Dolon — have not been given judicial duties since then.

Meanwhile, three other High Court judges, who were barred from judicial duties for five years in the wake of an inquiry into allegations against them, have resigned on November 19.

They are Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury, Justice Quazi Reza-Ul-Hoque and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque.

Justice Salma was appointed to the High Court Division on July 29, 2002, during the BNP-led alliance government's tenure, while Justice Reza-Ul-Hoque and Justice Zahirul were made HC judges on April 18, 2010, during the tenure of the Awami League government.

The president accepted their resignation letters the same day, a law ministry notification said.

However, neither the government nor the Supreme Court administration has provided information on the allegations against the judges, the investigating authority, or the current status of the investigation.

Then chief justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, on August 22, 2019, asked Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury, Justice Quazi Reza-Ul-Hoque and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque to refrain from judicial activities.

The three judges sought leave from the authorities concerned, then SC spokesperson Mohammad Saifur Rahman had said in a press statement without mentioning any reason.