BNP praises Chief Justice Sinha for his comment over writing verdicts after retirement

Chief Justice SK Sinha’s comment against writing verdicts after retirement has ‘shaken’ the government, a BNP leader has claimed. 

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 22 Jan 2016, 11:18 AM
Updated : 22 Jan 2016, 11:18 AM

Everything-- starting from the 15th Amendment to the Constitution to the present government-- ‘have been rendered illegal’ by the comment, BNP Standing Committee member Mahbubur Rahman said during a discussion at the National Press Club on Friday.

“We welcome what Chief Justice SK Sinha has said. He had the courage to speak the truth. His comment has shaken the government. It caused an earthquake in the government.”

Chief Justice Sinha, in a statement given on the completion of his first year at Bangladesh’s highest judicial post, spoke of his dissatisfaction over the inordinately long time some judges take to give verdicts.

“Some judges take extremely long time to write their judgments. Some others keep writing their verdicts long after their retirement, a practice that is against the law and the Constitution,” he said.

The BNP then claimed that the judgement that scrapped the 13th amendment to the Constitution was ‘illegal’ because former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque wrote the verdict after the retirement. 

The 15th Amendment to the Constitution brought by the ruling Awami League to dissolve the caretaker government system based on the verdict had no legal basis, said the BNP.  

“Just few days back, we felt an earthquake– everything started to shake. The chief justice’s comment on writing verdicts has caused a similar earthquake,” Rahman said at the discussion.

“Chief Justice SK Sinha sits at the topmost position of the judiciary. When he says something like this ... the very foundation on which the election was held in 2014, the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, becomes illegal. I believe the government, the parliament have now been rendered  illegal.”