Three judges appointed to Appellate Division

Three new judges have been appointed to the Supreme Court Appellate Division after a long period in which it was operating with only four judges.

Justices Zinat Ara, Abu Bakar Siddiquee and Md Nuruzzaman, who had all been serving as members of the High Court, will now judge cases in the Appellate Division.

The three were appointed to the Appellate Division on Monday, said High Court Division Special Officer Saifur Rahman.

The three will be sworn in by the chief justice at the Supreme Court Judge’s Lounge at 10:30am on Tuesday morning. Supreme Court Registrar General Md Zakir Hossain will conduct the ceremony.

The addition of the three to the Appellate Division raises the number of judges on Bangladesh’s highest constitutional bench to seven.

Justice Zinat, on the fourth position in terms of seniority at the High Court, is the second woman to be appointed to the Appellate Division.

Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana, the first woman to become an Appellate Division judge in Bangladesh, worked in the division from February, 2011 to July, 2017.  

Justice Zinat joined the Judicial Service as Munsif in 1973 after obtaining BSc and LLB degrees. She was promoted as district and sessions judge in 1995.

Her appointment to the High Court was made permanent in 2005, two years after her elevation as additional judge of the court.

Born on Mar 15, 1953, Justice Zinat will be able to serve two more years, according to the retirement age limit.

Justice Siddiquee and Justice Nuruzzaman were appointed as additional judge of the High Court in June, 2009 and became judge of the division two years later.

Justice Siddiquee’s younger brother Justice Hasan Foez Siddique is also an Appellate Division judge.

Justice Siddiquee was born on July 29, 1954. After obtaining BSc and LLB degrees from Rajshahi University, he enrolled with the Kushtia Bar Association as an advocate in 1979 and joined the Judicial Service as Munsif the next year.

He was promoted as district and sessions judge in 1997.

Born on July 1, 1956, Justice Nuruzzaman obtained MSS and LLB degrees before enrolling as an advocate of the District Court and the High Court in 1983 and 1987, respectively.

Justice Nuruzzaman took part in the Liberation War as freedom fighter in Sunamganj, Netrakona and Kishoregonj regions.