State to seek stay order on HC's rule declaring 16th Amendment illegal

The State will move the Appellate Division for a stay on the High Court's order declaring the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, which restored Parliament’s power to impeach top judges, as illegal.

After the HC's order on Thursday, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told bdnews24.com that they would file an appeal against it.
 
"We are aggrieved by this verdict. We will move the Supreme Court's chamber judge on Sunday to stay this order," he said.
 
Earlier in the day, the special bench of justices Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Md Ashraful Kamal had given the order in a majority decision over a petition challenging the validity of the 16th Amendment.
 
The attorney general said, "We have been given the certificate to appeal. So, we will be able to file a direct appeal."
 
The 16th Amendment was passed on Sep 17, 2014, allowing Parliament to remove judges by a two-thirds majority on grounds of incapacity and misconduct.
 
It was notified by inclusion in the official gazette five days later.
 
On Nov 5 same year, nine Supreme Court lawyers filed the petition at the High Court challenging the legal basis of the amendment.
 
Four days later, the HC issued a rule asking government why the amendment shall not be declared unconstitutional.
 
After 17 hearings on the issue, the court had fixed Thursday to give its decision.