& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Leading jurists call for dialogue

Criticise 'hasty move' to amend constitution

Staff Correspondent
A number of leading jurists yesterday stressed the need for a dialogue between all concerned before the constitution is amended to empower parliament to remove Supreme Court judges for misconduct and incapacity.
The government is going to amend the constitution at "a supersonic speed” without holding any discussions. It is "unconstitutional and unexpected”, said Dr Kamal Hossain.
He was speaking at a discussion on "Independent Judiciary: Process for appointment of judges, their accountability and impeachment" organised by Bangladesh Ganotantrik Ainjibi Samity at the Supreme Court Bar Association auditorium.
Dr Kamal, one of the architects of the country's constitution, said there are mistakes in the preamble of the proposed amendment bill, which has already been placed in the House.
Parliament's powers to remove judges were revoked in 1975 through the fourth amendment to the constitution.
"There was no mention of the word "impeachment" in Article 96 of the constitution.” The word "impeachment" is mentioned in Article 52 relating to the office of the president.
An amendment to the constitution might be extra-constitutional despite the fact that parliament can do it on the basis of majority, said Dr Kamal.
The Supreme Court cancelled the eighth amendment to the constitution though it had been brought by the majority in parliament, he said.
Referring to the mistakes in the bill's preamble, he said there should be an enquiry about the person who prepared the draft of the bill.
He also raised doubts about efficiency of the drafter.
The law minister had practised at the Supreme Court for long. It was impossible that he would forget laws after becoming minister, said Dr Kamal.
Time should be taken and discussions should take place before any amendment is made to the constitution.
He questioned why the amendment should be brought in three to seven days.
The eminent jurist urged all lawyers to get united to protect the constitution and independence of the judiciary.
M Amir-Ul Islam, another framer of the constitution, said the 1972 charter gave powers to parliament to remove judges because the Supreme Court was not "mature" then.
The 1972 constitution suggested formulating a law for appointing judges, but such a law was yet to be made, he said.
Discussions are needed for bringing an amendment to the constitution.
"The judiciary has played a very effective role in establishing the constitutional supremacy through the second-generation judgment that revoked the eighth amendment to the constitution," he said.
The "third-generation judgments" cancelled the so-called caretaker gov-ernment system and extraconstitutional democracy, said the senior legal expert.
Former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque is the pioneer of the third-generation judgments, as he cancelled the fifth amendment to the constitution, said Amir-Ul Islam.
No compromise can be made
regarding the principles upon which Justice Khairul had given the judgment in the fifth amendment case, he said.
However, renowned lawyer Rokanuddin Mahmud said Justice Khairul in his judgment upheld the constitutional provision of Supreme Judicial Council led by the chief justice for removing judges.
After becoming Law Commission chairman, Justice Khairul recommended giving the powers back to parliament to remove judges, he said.
"Why did Justice Khairul do that?” asked Rokanuddin.
The noted jurist said he heard that a three-member committee comprising an ex-chief justice and two retired SC judges would be formed to determine the procedures for judges' removal.
He suggested setting up the committee with the incumbent chief justice and two sitting SC judges.
Senior lawyer Mainul Hosein said the current parliament, "which has no legitimacy”, shouldn't have the powers to remove judges.
Dr Shahdeen Malik said false infor-
mation was given in the preamble of the amendment bill, which is "a fraud on the nation”.
From the preamble, it seems that the powers the 1972 constitution gave to parliament to remove judges were snatched away in 1978. But in fact, the powers were transferred to the president from parliament through the fourth amendment to the constitution in 1975.
The judges' retirement age was 62 in the 1972 constitution whereas the preamble of the amendment bill puts it at 67, Malik said.
At the meeting, Supreme Court Bar Association President Khandker Mahbub Hossain proposed forming a committee with Dr Kamal as its convener to "protect the independence of judiciary".
He also suggested making Amir-Ul Islam, Mainul Hosein, Rokanuddin Mahmud, Khandker Mahbub Hossain and Shahdeen Malik joint conveners of the committee.
Ganotantrik Ainjibi Samity President Subrata Chowdhury presided over the discussion.