CJ sends 12 judges appointed under AL govt on leave amid protests

Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed has placed 12 High Court judges, appointed during the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League rule, on leave.

The decision followed a demonstration today by students from public and private universities under the banner of Anti-discrimination Student Movement, who laid siege to the High Court this morning demanding the judges' resignation by 2pm.

According to Supreme Court sources, the judges who were put on leave are — Naima Haider, Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar, SM Moniruzzaman, Md Ataur Rahman Khan, Shahed Nuruddin, Md Akhtaruzzaman, Md Aminul Islam, SM Masud Hossain Dolan, Khizir Hayat, Khandaker Diliruzzaman, Ashish Ranjan Das and Sheikh Hassan Arif.

However, as of filing this report, no official statement has been released from the chief justice's office.

Sources said that the chief justice invited the 12 judges for tea today afternoon to inform them of the decision, and some of the judges attended.

The protesting students — led by key coordinators of the movement Hasnat Abdullah and Sargis Alam — labelled the judges as "partisan, corrupt, and allies of the fascist Awami League government". 

"The chief justice has decided to place 12 judges on leave for now. They will not be assigned to any benches," said Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan, the registrar general of the Supreme Court, in front of protesting students following a meeting with movement coordinators at his office.

He said, "You know there is a legal process for the resignation or removal of a judge. Currently, there is no such law in the country."

"The previous government initiated a provision for the removal of judges through the parliament, resulting in a constitutional amendment. However, the Supreme Court scrapped it. The government has filed a review application against this judgment in the Appellate Division. On Sunday [20 October], an SC bench, led by the chief justice, will decide on the review petition," he said.

"The appointment of judges is done by the president, and any resignation or removal is initiated by the president's office," Aziz said.

"Here, the chief justice did his part. The 12 judges are not being assigned to any benches at this time, meaning they will not be able to participate in judicial proceedings," he explained.

"The Supreme Court is not solely responsible for the removal of judges; the president, the attorney general's office, and the law ministry are also involved. The hearing on the review petition is set for 20 October, and the decision regarding the judges' removal will be made on that day," the SC registrar general added.

Following this announcement, the protesters left the court premises. Hasnat Abdullah told the media, "We will monitor the situation until next Sunday afternoon."

According to the Supreme Court administration sources, there are allegations of corruption and irregularities against the 12 judges.

Apart from students, various organisations and lawyers have been demanding the resignation of pro-Awami League judges.

Since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on 5 August, pro-BNP lawyers have been demanding the resignation of at least 30 judges of the Supreme Court.

Before laying siege to the High Court, students of various institutions were seen gathering in front of the Raju Memorial Sculpture at Dhaka University at around 11am, demanding the ban of Awami League as a political party and the trial of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Hasnat Abdullah announced the programme in a Facebook post on 15 October. In the post, he wrote, "In demand of the resignation of the fascist judges of the Awami League, we will besiege the High Court tomorrow [Wednesday] at 11am."

The protests caused traffic disruptions around the High Court and Shahbagh areas.

Following over a month of protests, Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country on 5 August, leading to the ouster of the Awami League government.

An interim government, led by Chief Adviser Prof Yunus, took its place.

Earlier on 10 August, students also staged demonstrations for the resignation of Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan and other justices of the Appellate Division.

They marched towards the High Court premises, demanding the resignation of justices loyal to the Awami League and a restructuring of the country's judiciary.

The following day, Obaidul Hassan and five other judges of the Appellate Division stepped down.

The five other judges are — Justice M Enayetur Rahim, Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique, Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim, Justice Md Shahinur Islam and Justice Kashefa Hussain.

The 12 judges sent on leave

Justice SM Maniruzzaman was enrolled as an Advocate of the District Court, the High Court Division and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in 1996, 1997 and 2018 respectively. He was appointed as Assistant Attorney General and appointed as Deputy Attorney General for Bangladesh in 2009 and 2011 respectively. He was elevated as Additional Judge of the High Court Division in 2018.

Justice Khandaker Diliruzzaman was enrolled as an Advocate of the District Court and the High Court Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court in 1999 and 2001 respectively. He acted as Deputy Attorney General till elevation to the Bench. He was elevated as Additional Judge of the High Court Division in 2018.

Justice Md Akhtaruzzaman was enrolled as an Advocate of the District Court in 1991. He joined the Judicial Service as Assistant Judge in 1993 and was promoted as District and Sessions Judge in 2015. He was elevated as additional Judge of the High Court Division in 2019.

Justice Shahed Nuruddin joined the Judicial service as Munsif in 1983 and was promoted as District and Sessions Judge in 2000. He was elevated as additional Judge of the High Court Division in 2019.

Justice SM Masud Hossain Dolon was enrolled as an Advocate of the District Court, the High Court Division and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in 2003, 2004 and 2015 respectively. He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the High Court Division in 2022.

Justice Md Aminul Islam was enrolled as an Advocate with the Bangladesh Bar Council in 1992 and High Court Division in 2005. He worked as Deputy Attorney General from 2017 to 2022. He was elevated as Additional Judge of the High Court Division on 31 July, 2022.

Justice Naima Haider was enrolled as an Advocate of the District Court, the High Court Division and the Appellate Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court in 1989, 1993 and 2004 respectively. She was elevated as Additional Judge of the High Court Division in 2009 and appointed Judge of the same division in 2011.

Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar was enrolled as an Advocate of the District Court, the High Court Division and the Appellate Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court in 1995, 1996 and 2010 respectively. He was elevated as Additional Judge of the High Court Division in 2011 and appointed Judge of the same Division in 2013.

Justice Md Ataur Rahman Khan was enrolled as an Advocate of the District Court, the High Court Division and the Appellate Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court in 1984, 1989 and 1999 respectively. He was elevated as Additional Judge of the High Court Division in 2004 and appointed Judge of the same Division in 2006.

Justice Khizir Hayat was enrolled as an Advocate of the Dhaka District Court and the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in 1997 and 2001 respectively. He was elevated as Additional Judge of the High Court Division in 2018.

Justice Ashish Ranjan Das joined the judicial service as Munsif in 1983 and was promoted as District and Session Judge in 2000. He was elevated as Additional Judge of the High Court Division in 2012.

Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif was elevated as the Judge of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, High Court Division in 2010.