Law minister lied in 16th Amendment bill, claims BNP

The law minister has lied in the 16th Constitutional Amendment Bill that proposes returning to Parliament the jurisdiction to impeach the Supreme Court, the BNP alleges.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 8 Sept 2014, 07:10 PM
Updated : 8 Sept 2014, 07:20 PM

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Speaking to reporters on Monday, the opposition party’s acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the power was not vested with Parliament in 1975 as Law Minister Anisul Huq claimed in the Bill.
“This power was with Parliament in the 1972 Constitution. The power to impeach judges was given to the president through the Fourth Amendment (to the Constitution) in 1975.
“But the law minister said in Parliament (Sunday) this jurisdiction was with Parliament in the 1972 Constitution. The bill has been moved as Ziaur Rahman shifted the power to the Supreme Judicial Council after coming to power. It’s not true.” he said.
“The law minister need not lie in this manner.”
The spokesperson for the BNP said if voted to power, the party would abrogate all the ‘black laws’ enacted by the current government.
The law minister placed the ‘Constitution (16th Amendment) Bill-2014’ in Parliament on Sunday seeking to restore Parliament’s authority to impeach a judge on grounds of misbehaviour or incapacity.
The speaker sent it to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs for scrutiny.
The existing constitutional provision for the Supreme Judicial Council will cease to exist once the bill is passed.
The BNP has been opposing the bill, saying it will constrict the judges in fairly judging cases.