SC to get own secretariat within three months

The ruling restores control of lower courts to Supreme Court (SC) instead of president and mandates creation of separate judicial secretariat, says Adv Shishir Manir 
The High Court has directed the government to establish an independent and separate secretariat for the Supreme Court within three months, issuing its full verdict on the matter.

In the same judgment, the court restored the Supreme Court’s authority over the control and discipline of subordinate courts.

The 185-page verdict was released on Tuesday after being signed by the High Court bench comprising Justice Ahmed Sohel and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury.

The court ordered the government to set up a separate judicial secretariat within three months from the date of the judgment, in line with proposals from Supreme Court authorities.

Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir, one of the petitioners’ counsel, said the ruling restores control of lower courts to the Supreme Court instead of the president and mandates the creation of a separate judicial secretariat.

In its verdict, the court declared the amendment to Article 116 of the Constitution regarding the control and discipline of subordinate courts illegal, reinstating the original 1972 constitutional provision.

Under the restored provision, the control, posting, promotion, leave and discipline of judicial officers and magistrates exercising judicial functions will remain under the Supreme Court.

Earlier, on September 2, 2025, the High Court had also directed the establishment of a separate Supreme Court secretariat within three months.

The Constitution currently vests control over subordinate judiciary officials in the President, who exercises this authority in consultation with the Supreme Court.

This arrangement was introduced through the Fourth Amendment in 1975 and later modified by the Fifteenth Amendment.

The High Court said the 2011 amendment to Article 116 was inconsistent with the Constitution and therefore invalid. It also struck down provisions of the 2017 Judicial Service (Discipline) Rules as unconstitutional.
The judgment follows a writ petition filed in August 2024 by seven lawyers, including Supreme Court lawyer Saddam Hossain, challenging the legality of Article 116 and seeking a separate judicial secretariat.
After a preliminary hearing, the court issued a rule in October 2024 asking why the constitutional provisions and related rules should not be declared illegal and why a separate judicial secretariat should not be established. Following hearings, the court delivered its final verdict.