Secretary, Ministry of Finance v Masdar Hossain


Secretary, Ministry of Finance v Masdar Hossain 52 DLR 82 is a case of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. The case concerned the separation of powers in Bangladesh. It is popularly known as the Masdar Hossain case.

Facts

In 1995, a writ petition was filed by Masdar Hossain, a district judge, on behalf of 441 other civil court judges. The petition put forward the following points:-
The Dhaka High Court ruled in favor of the petition with a 12-point directive in 1997. The government appealed to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

Judgement

In 1999, the Supreme Court reversed parts of the High Court ruling, but upheld the 12 point directive. It issued a further 12 point directive. The Supreme Court called for the formation of an independent judicial commission to select members of the judiciary, deal with matters of judicial salaries and manage discipline. The Supreme Court ruled that the constitution provided a framework for judicial independence.

Significance

The verdict led to the formation of the Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission. It was implemented by Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed during the caretaker administration in 2007.