Judiciary operates completely independent of government: Chief Justice Sinha

Bangladesh’s courts are operating without any interference from the government, Chief Justice SK Sinha has said.

He was speaking at a discussion arranged by the Bangladesh Law Society, an organisation of Bangladeshi-American lawyers, in New York City in his honour on Sunday afternoon (local time).

"In the past everyone believed the judiciary was just another organ of the political government. Actually the judiciary is an organ of the state and it is working with one hundred percent independence," Chief Justice Sinha said.

“There has been no interference from any section of the government,” he continued. “All sensitive cases, including those on 1971 war crimes, are proceeding in line with the law.”

Justice Sinha, dwelling on human rights and the role of the judiciary in Bangladesh, made the comments amidst claims by the BNP that the government exercised an undue degree of influence over the judiciary.

The chief justice had himself also expressed a different opinion earlier.

"Beware of the executive [branch]; it is trying to take away all our powers," he said at a programme organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association in January.

On Sunday, Sinha said those making claims about the government’s influence over the judiciary were doing so for 'purely political’ reasons.

“Many people raise questions about the judiciary’s impartiality to score political points, even when cases go their way,” he said. “It has become something of a platitude.”

The chief justice also had praise for the media on its role in ensuring fair trials.

“It has become impossible to suppress anything,” he said.

“Because the judiciary is now independent, it will never be possible to impose martial law on the people again,” he said.

The chief justice admitted that, as any other government institution, the judiciary had ‘some degree of corruption’. Work was under way to eliminate it, he added.

“Like other sectors the judiciary also has some degree of corruption. There is no denying it. But we are making a sincere and concerted effort to stamp it out,” he said.