SC begins further hearing on govt appeal

The Supreme Court yesterday started further hearing on an appeal filed by the government in a case related to the Warrant of Precedence of the state.

Although the apex court passed a short order on the appeal two days back, it started further hearing to clarify that reports published by the media on this issue, based on a lawyer's remarks, were not correct, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told The Daily Star.

A five-member bench of the Appellate Division of the SC also fixed January 11 to resume the hearing.

The SC in its short order on January 6 said, “The appeal is disposed of with expunction, modification, observation and findings.” The order was published on the SC's website.

In 2011, the cabinet secretary, on behalf of the government, filed the appeal with the SC against a HC verdict that declared the present Warrant of Precedence, which was formulated in 1986 and revised in 2008, illegal. 

Responding to a writ petition, the HC in 2010 had also directed the government to issue a new Warrant of Precedence for the republic's officers giving district judges and equivalent judicial officers precedence over the chiefs of armed forces and government secretaries.

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

During proceedings yesterday, the SC rebuked the lawyer, M Asaduzzaman, for explaining the court's observations in his own way as the SC did not disclose contents of its observations in the short order on January 6.

“How could you know details of the observations? Have you got a copy of the verdict?” the court questioned.

At this stage, M Asaduzzaman, the petitioner's lawyer, apologised to the court saying he made a mistake.      

The cabinet secretary's lawyer, Abdur Rab Chaudhury, who placed arguments before the SC yesterday, told The Daily Star that the SC did not say whether its January 6 short order has been withdrawn or not.