Court Correspondent :
Three High Court Judges, who have been kept away from judicial functions for five years in the wake of an inquiry against them, have resigned.
The three judges are- Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury, Justice Quazi Reza-Ul-Hoque and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque.
Justice Salma Masud was appointed as a High Court Judge during the regime of the BNP-led alliance government on July 29 of 2002, and Justice Quazi Reza-Ul and Justice Zahirul were appointed as High Court judges during the regime of Awami League government on April 18, 2010.
Law Secretary Sheikh Abu Taher issued a gazette notification to this effect on Tuesday, saying that they resigned from their positions through signed letters addressed to the President of the Republic in accordance with Article 96(4) of the constitution.
The President has accepted their resignation letters, according to the notification.
Neither the Supreme Court administration nor the government has revealed the allegations against them, who conducted the investigation, and whether it was completed.
When contacted, Law Secretary Sheikh Abu Taher refused to give any details about when Justice Salma, Justice Quazi Reza-Ul and Justice Zahirul resigned and the contents of their resignation letters.
Law Adviser Asif Nazrul and Supreme Court Registrar General Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan could not be reached for their comments on this issue despite repeated attempts.
A Supreme Court registry official, requesting anonymity, told the media that the Supreme Judicial Council led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat had called Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury, Justice Quazi Reza-Ul-Hoque and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque earlier this month for some queries. Their resignation follows the visit.
The official said the three former High Court Judges sent their resignation letters to the President through the Supreme Court Registrar General’s Office earlier on Tuesday.
Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury, Justice Quazi Reza-Ul-Hoque and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque were asked to refrain from judicial activities on August 22 of 2019.
After they were informed, the judges sought leave from the authorities concerned, the then Supreme Court spokesperson Mohammad Saifur Rahman said in a press statement on that day, without mentioning any reasons.
The statement also did not disclose the names of the judges and why authorities were conducting the inquiry.
Meanwhile, on October 16 of this year, over a thousand students besieged the Supreme Court premises demanding the removal of “pro-Awami League fascist judges”.
On that day, Supreme Court Registrar General Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan told the protesting students that 12 judges would not be given benches for now. Then, the agitating students postponed their demonstrations.
Since then 12 High Court judges- Justice Md Ataur Rahman Khan, Justice Naima Haider, Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif, Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar, Justice Ashish Ranjan Das, Justice Khizir Hayat, Justice SM Maniruzzaman, Justice Khandaker Diliruzzaman, Justice Md Akhtaruzzaman, Justice Shahed Nuruddin, Justice Md Aminul Islam and Justice SM Masud Hossain Dolon have not been given benches for conducting judicial functions.
The development came two months after the then Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan and five other judges of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court stepped down amid students’ demonstrations demanding their resignations following the fall of Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5.
The Supreme Court administration recently in a press release said the information about some of the judges was being scrutinized.
The Supreme Judicial Council led by the Chief Justice was formed after the Supreme Court delivered its verdict on the constitution’s 16th amendment case on October 20.
