Supreme Court of Bangladesh


The Supreme Court of Bangladesh is the highest court of law in Bangladesh. It is composed of the High Court Division and the Appellate Division, and was created by Part VI Chapter I of the Constitution of Bangladesh adopted in 1972. This is also the office of the Chief Justice, Appellate Division Justices, and High Court Division Justices of Bangladesh. As of June 2020, there are 6 Justices in Appellate Division and 97 in High Court Division.

Structure

The Supreme Court of Bangladesh is divided into two parts: the Appellate Division and the High Court Division. The High Court Division hears appeals from lower courts and tribunals; it also has original jurisdiction in certain limited cases, such as writ applications under Article 102 of the Constitution of Bangladesh, and company and admiralty matters. The Appellate Division has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the High Court Division. The Supreme Court is independent of the executive branch, and is able to rule against the government in politically controversial cases.
The Chief Justice of Bangladesh and other judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President of Bangladesh with prior mandatory consultation with the Prime Minister. The entry point to the seat of judges in the High Court Division is the post of Additional Judge who are appointed from the practising Advocates of the Supreme Court Bar Association and from the judicial service under the provision of Article 98 of the constitution for a period of two years. The current ratio of such appointment is 80%–20%. Upon successful completion of this period and upon recommendation by the Chief Justice an Additional Judge is appointed permanently by the President of Bangladesh under the provision of Article 95 of the Constitution. The judges of the Appellate Division are also appointed by the President of Bangladesh under the same provision. All such appointments come into effect on and from the date of taking oath by the appointee under the provision of Article 148 of the constitution.
A judge of the Bangladesh Supreme Court holds office until they attain the age of 67 years as extended by the provision of article 95 of Constitution Amendment Act, 2004. A retiring judge faces disability in pleading or acting before any court or authority or holding any office of profit in the service of the republic, not being a judicial or quasi-judicial office or the office of the Chief Adviser or Adviser.
A Supreme Court judge is not removable from office except in accordance with the provision of Article 96 of the Constitution which provides for Supreme Judicial Council empowering it to remove a judge of the supreme court from office upon allowing the delinquent judge an opportunity of being heard. The supreme judicial council is constituted with the Chief Justice of Bangladesh and next two senior judge of the Appellate Division, provided if at any time the Council inquiring into the capacity or conduct of a judge who is a member of the supreme judicial council, or a member of the council is absent or is unable to act due to illness or other cause, the judge who is the next in seniority to those who are members of the Council shall act as such member.
Supreme court judges are independent in their judicial function as empowered through article 94 of the Constitution.

Judgments of Supreme Court of Bangladesh

As per Article 111 of the Constitution of Bangladesh, 1972, the Supreme Court judgments have binding effects and the article provides that the law declared by the Appellate Division shall be binding on the High Court Division and the law declared by either division of the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts subordinate to it.
These judgements are usually summarised in the Bangladesh Supreme Court Digest. There are also many law reports which publish the judgments and orders of the Supreme Court. All these law reports are in printed volumes. The Chancery Law Chronicles offers the online service of judgments of Supreme Court of Bangladesh.

Criticism

Although Bengali is the only state language of Bangladesh in accordance with the article 3 of the Constitution of Bangladesh, the verdicts given by the judges at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh are frequently in English following the colonial tradition of the British rule, violating the Bengali Language Implementation Act, 1987. Sheikh Hasina, the incumbent and longest serving Prime Minister of Bangladesh, suggested that the judges should deliver their verdicts in Bengali so that every Bangladeshi can read them, and, later on if need be, the verdicts could be translated into English. Muhammad Habibur Rahman, a former Chief Justice of Bangladesh stated that if justice is a virtue and a service to the people, then verdicts should be given in Bengali. He also stated that if the people of the country want that all works in the Supreme Court must be operated in Bengali, then the representatives of the people in the Jatiya Sangsad must enact and implement law to ensure the use of Bengali in the Supreme Court.

Judges

Sitting judges of the Appellate Division

Sitting Permanent Judges of the High Court Division

  1. Justice Tariq ul Hakim
  2. Madame Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury
  3. Justice Muhammad Abdul Hafiz
  4. Justice Dr. Syed Refaat Ahmed
  5. Justice Miftah Uddin Choudhury
  6. Justice A. K. M. Asaduzzaman
  7. Justice Md. Ashfaqul Islam
  8. Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury
  9. Justice Md. Emdadul Huq
  10. Justice Md. Rais Uddin
  11. Justice Md. Emdadul Haque Azad
  12. Justice Md. Ataur Rahman Khan
  13. Justice Syed Md. Ziaul Karim
  14. Justice Md. Rezaul Haque
  15. Justice Sheikh Abdul Awal
  16. Justice S. M. Emdadul Hoque
  17. Justice Mamnoon Rahman
  18. Madame Justice Farah Mahbub
  19. Justice A. K. M. Abdul Hakim
  20. Justice Borhanuddin
  21. Justice Soumendra Sarker
  22. Justice Obaidul Hassan
  23. Justice M Enayetur Rahim
  24. Madame Justice Dr. Naima Haydar
  25. Justice Md. Rezaul Hasan
  26. Justice Md. Faruque
  27. Justice F. R. M. Nazmul Ahsan
  28. Madame Justice Krishna Debnath
  29. Justice A. N. M. Bashir Ullah
  30. Justice Abdur Rob
  31. Justice Dr. Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque
  32. Justice Md. Abu Zafor Siddique
  33. Justice A. K. M. Zahirul Hoque
  34. Justice Jahangir Hossain
  35. Justice Sheikh Md. Zakir Hossain
  36. Justice Md. Habibul Gani
  37. Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore
  38. Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif
  39. Justice J. B. M. Hassan
  40. Justice Md. Ruhul Quddus
  41. Justice Md. Khasruzzaman
  42. Justice Farid Ahmed
  43. Justice Md. Nazrul Islam Talukder
  44. Justice Bhabani Prasad Singha
  45. Justice M Akram Hossain Chowdhury
  46. Justice M Ashraful Kamal
  47. Justice K. M. Kamrul Kader
  48. Justice Mohammad Mujibur Rahman Miah
  49. Justice Mostofa Zaman Islam
  50. Justice Mohammadullah
  51. Justice Mohammad Khurshid Alam Sarker
  52. Justice A K M Shahidul Haque
  53. Justice Shahidul Karim
  54. Justice Mohammad Jahangir Hossain
  55. Justice Abu Taher Mohammad Saifur Rahman
  56. Justice Ashish Ranjan Daash
  57. Justice Mahmudul Haque
  58. Justice Badruzzaman Badol
  59. Justice Zafar Ahmed
  60. Justice Kazi Md. Ejarul Haque Akondo
  61. Justice Mohammad Shahinur Islam
  62. Madame Justice Kashefa Hussain
  63. Justice Syed Mohammad Mozibur Rahman
  64. Justice Amir Hossain
  65. Justice Khizir Ahmed Choudhury
  66. Justice Razik Al-Jalil
  67. Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty
  68. Justice Md. Iqbal Kabir
  69. Justice Md. Salim
  70. Justice Md. Sohrowardi
  71. Justice Md. Abu Ahmed Jamadar
  72. Justice A.S.M Abdul Mobin
  73. Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman
  74. Madam Justice Fatema Najib
  75. Justice Md. Kamrul Hossain Molla
  76. Justice SM Kuddus Zaman
  77. Justice Md. Atowar Rahman
  78. Justice Khizir Hayat
  79. Justice Shashanka Shekhar Sarkar
  80. Justice Mohammad Ali
  81. Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim
  82. Justice Md. Riaz Uddin Khan
  83. Justice M Khairul Alam
  84. Justice S.M Moniruzzaman
  85. Justice Ahmed Sohel
  86. Justice Sardar Mohammad Rashed Jahangir
  87. Justice Khondaker Diliruzzaman
  88. Justice KM Hafizul Alam

    Sitting Additional Judges of the High Court Division

  89. Justice Muhammad Mahbub-Ul-Islam
  90. Justice Shahed Nuruddin
  91. Justice Md Zakir Hossain
  92. Justice Md Akhtaruzzaman
  93. Justice Md Mahmud Hasan Talukder
  94. Justice Kazi Ebadoth Hossain
  95. Justice KM Zahid Sarwar
  96. Justce AKM Zahirul Haque
  97. Madam Justice Kazi Zinat Hoque
Former Chief Justice Surandra Kumar Sinha was the first justice appointed from Monipuri or any minority Ethnic groups in Bangladesh. Justice Bhabani Prasad Sinha is also from the same community.
Madame Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana was the first ever female justice, and Madame Justice Krishna Debnath is the first female Hindu justice of Bangladesh. There are currently seven female justices in the supreme court.

Controversy

Former Chief Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim withheld the oath taking of Justice Md. Ruhul Quddus as he was involved in the murder of Aaslam, a pro-Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh student of Rajshahi University, on 17 November 1988, when he was a leader of Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal, and Justice Mohammad Khosruzzaman was overtly involved in contempt of court on 30 November 2006.
Justice Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman, an appellate division judge, first ever among these judges, resigned on 12 May 2011 due to supersession, as he was presumed to be the Chief Justice of Bangladesh on 18 May 2011.
Justice Mohammad Nizamul Huq resigned from the post of International Crimes Tribunal -1 chairman on 11 December 2012 amid controversy for holding Skype conversations with an expatriate Bangladeshi legal expert based in Belgium.
President of Bangladesh ordered for formation of a Supreme Judicial Council to investigate alleged misconduct of High Court judge Justice Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan after he distributed copies of a 17 February The Daily Inqilab report, termed slain 2013 Shahbag protests activist and blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider was a moortad, among the justices of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
Justice A B M Altaf Hossain was not confirmed as a permanent justice on 12 June 2014 despite recommendation from the Chief Justice of Bangladesh. So he has served legal notices to the top bureaucrats of Bangladesh government to reinstate him within 72 hours.
Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha resigned on 11 November 2017 from Singapore while on a leave, and transiting from Australia to Canada.