SC to consider 16th amendment to constitution soon: law minister

The hearings to consider the restoration of the 16th amendment to the constitution, which allows parliament to remove any top judge on grounds of incompetency or misconduct, will begin ‘soon,’ according to Bangladesh Law Minister Anisul Huq.

The minister made the remark during the discussion of a bill in parliament on  Tuesday.

The government challenged the abolishment of the 16th amendment on the grounds of “errors apparent on the face of the record,” the minister said.

“Our appeal has enough merit for a review. We have already requested the Appellate Division for a hearing in the case. The Appellate Division has informed us that they will hear it soon,” Huq added.

During a discussion in the House on Jun 30 last year, in response to a question from Jatiya Party MP Md Mujibul Haque Chunnu, the law minister said that initiative would be taken to start the hearing after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

Parliament passed the 16th constitutional bill on Sep 17, 2014, giving it the ability to remove top judges.

The first Constitution of Bangladesh in 1972 had given parliament the jurisdiction to end the tenure of top judges and consider their removal.

In 1975, the president was granted the power through the 4th Amendment.

After Ziaur Rahman began his military rule, he revoked this amendment and formed a Supreme Judicial Council to oversee the matter, following an order to enforce the impeachment rule.

The issue of reviving this authority came into focus after the Awami League took office in 2009.

The matter was also discussed in 2011 when the 15th amendment to the constitution was discussed.

After the amendment was passed in 2014, nine attorneys of the Supreme Court filed a petition that year challenging it.

The High Court scrapped the amendment on May 5, 2016, declaring that the amendment was illegal, unconstitutional and against the principles of the separation of state powers and the independence of the judiciary.

Afterwards, the government appealed against the High Court’s decision, but it was rejected by the Appellate Division led by former Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha on Jul 3, 2017.

Through the abolishment of the 16th constitutional amendment the Supreme Court brought back the Supreme Judicial Council established during Ziaur Rahman’s military rule. Additionally, a set of guidelines have been introduced for top judges.

In the personal reflection section of the 799-page verdict, Sinha criticised and discussed different issues that included the country’s politics, military rule, the election commission and the independence of the judiciary.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina criticised Sinha for his opinions and the verdict regarding the constitutional amendment. Some ruling party leaders described Sinha’s activities as “efforts to topple the government through a judicial coup by a judge”.

Later, Sinha became the first chief justice of the country to quit when he submitted his resignation from overseas, 81 days before the end of his term.

After his resignation, the Supreme Court said in a rare statement that Sinha had been facing 11 specific charges, including corruption, money laundering, financial irregularities and moral blunder.

On Nov 9, a Dhaka court sentenced him to 11 years in prison on two counts of graft in a case over the laundering of Tk 40 million from the Farmers Bank, now known as Padma Bank.