& 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

HC Judges' Appointment

Process for a law underway

Assures law minister

Ashutosh Sarkar
The government has initiated a process to formulate a specific law on appointment of judges to the H igh Court amid longstanding demand from different quarters and an expectation for a ruling from the HC.
“We will make a law for recruitment of the High Court judges. We have already started a process to that end," Law Minister
Anisul Huq told The Daily Star yesterday.
Without elaborating, the minister said he did not know how much time formation of the law would require.
Asked if new judges would be appointed to the HC soon, he said he did not know.
An HC bench has meanwhile been expected to deliver a verdict in a month on a writ petition that sought specific guidelines for selecting the persons for appointment as judges to the HC.
The bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice Krishna Debnath concluded hearing on the petition in September and kept the petition for giving its judgement any day.
Deputy Attorney General Motaher Hossain Sazu and petitioner's counsel Barrister Hassan MS Azim told this correspondent that the HC bench might give its verdict in January, as this court would go for annual vacation on December 16 and would reopen on January 2.
Barrister Azim said the HC had heard experts' opinions from four amice curiae (friends of the court) — Dr
Kamal Hossain, Barrister Shaflque Ahmed, Advocate AF Hasan Ariff and Barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud -- on the petition.
During hearing on the petition, Dr Kamal Hossain, Barrister Shaflque Ahmed, Advocate AF H asan Ariff opined that the HC could frame guidelines for appointing its judges until a specific law was formulated, he said. Barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud told the HC that parliament was the authority to pass a bill for formulating a law for recruitment of its judges, he added.
Following the writ petition, the HC on June 6, 2010 asked the government to explain why a specific guideline to appoint its judges should not be framed to bring transparency and
competitiveness in the process.
The government has not replied to the HC rule, Barrister Azim said.
The HC judges are now being appointed as per article 95(2) of the Constitution.
The article says the candidate must be a citizen of Bangladesh and have the experience of practising as a Supreme Court advocate for at least 10 years; or have held judicial office in Bangladesh for at least 10 years; or have such qualifications as may be prescribed by law for appointment as a judge of the High Court.
Different quarters have long been demanding a guideline to bring transparency and competitiveness in the recruitment process.
Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha on December 7 at a programme in Dhaka said he too was in favour of a law for appointing HC judges.
The Supreme Court Bar Association has been demanding a guideline for several years and alleging that incompetent people were being appointed as judges on political consideration.
In November 2012, the law ministry prepared a draft guideline in consultation with the chief justice, specifying the academic qualifications and experience of a candidate.
The ministry sent the draft to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) the same month to forward it to the president for his approval.
However, the PMO sent the draft
back to the ministry in the face of Opposition from some "influential" lawyers and judicial officials, a law ministry official told this correspondent.
Earlier on March 2, 2009, the Appellate Division in a judgement in a case (Idrisur Rahman vs Bangladesh case) said, "In the matter of selection of judges, the opinion of the chief justice should be dominant in the area of legal acumen and suitability for the appointment, and in the area of antecedents the opinion of the executive should be dominant.
"Together, the two should function to find out the most suitable candidates available for appointment through a transparent process of consultation."