Published : 08 Nov 2026, 12:30 PM
Updated : 08 Nov 2026, 12:30 PM
Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman has said that “intellectual corruption” has done more harm to the judiciary of Bangladesh than financial corruption.
He made the remarks during the inauguration of a training workshop on “Integrity in Judicial Proceedings” at Hotel Holiday Inn in Dhaka’s Tejgaon on Sunday.
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) jointly organised the three-day workshop, in which 25 lower court judges are taking part.
Urging the TIB to move beyond the idea of only considering financial irregularities as corruption, Asaduzzaman said: “Intellectual corruption has done more harm to Bangladesh than financial corruption in the judiciary. I will not say that the 13th Amendment verdict was a by-product of financial corruption; it was a by-product of intellectual corruption.”
Questioning the role of the Supreme Court in the past few years, he said: “The Supreme Court is constitutionally the most independent body. Once someone is appointed as a permanent Supreme Court judge, the government has no chance to influence them.
“But to what extent has the Supreme Court stood by the people during the crises of the past few years? Those who are intellectually biased, those who are corrupt, those who have questioned the current Supreme Court— identify them, speak out against them.”
The law minister promised to bring transparency to the judiciary by amending the Constitution to ensure a separate secretariat and the independence of the body.
However, criticising the excessive overreach in the name of judicial review, he said: “Sometimes the lawlessness is created in the judiciary, with judicial review being used to access power. The judgment of the 13th Amendment is a classic example of this.
“When we were in consultation with the Constitution Amendment Committee, there was a demand from lawyers and university teachers that the power of judicial review should be reconsidered.”
Commenting on the failure of the High Court to protect the fundamental rights of citizens in the past, Asaduzzaman said that after the disappearance of Salahuddin Ahmed or the disappearance of Mirza Sultan Raja by the Rakshi Bahini, there was no protection from the court even after going for judicial review under Article 102 (habeas corpus) of the Constitution.
Even when justice Debesh Bhattacharya questioned the then government about producing a person in court in a case, the government said indifferently, “He has been sent to such a place from which there is no way to return”, the law minister said. The judiciary could not do anything at that time either.
Commenting on the fact that the society has been intellectually divided, the Asaduzzaman said: “Just as I will speak against the opposition and the murderers of the 1971 Liberation War and the murderers of Jafar, Joynal, Dipali Saha, Kanchan, Raufun Basunia, Jihad, Dr Milon in the 1990s struggle; at the same time, I will encourage people to speak out against those who killed over 1,400 people and maimed 30,000 people, including Abu Sayed, Mughdo, Anas, in the 2024 mass uprising.”
“However, today a section of intellectuals is sitting quietly, they are not talking about the people who were maimed in 2024.”
The law minister said that any public welfare-oriented proposal of the TIB to amend the Constitution would be welcomed and urged them to submit written recommendations within the next 10 days.
Agreeing with Asaduzzaman’s statement at the event, TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said: "TIB does not only consider the misuse of financial power as corruption; we also see it as corruption when intellectual, political, administrative and social power is misused for personal or group interests.
"Irregularities in the judicial system are also not only dependent on financial or illegal transactions."
TIB will publish a new report on this issue in the next couple of weeks and it will be handed over to the ministry within the 10 days set by the minister, he said.
