President orders probe into allegations against 12 HC judges

President Mohammed Shahabuddin has ordered an investigation into the allegations of misconduct against 12 High Court (HC) judges who were appointed during the tenure of the deposed Awami League government.

The Supreme Judicial Council is set to commence the investigation next week, according to information revealed by the Supreme Court administration on Monday.

The 12 HC judges are Justice Naima Haider, Justice Md Ataur Rahman Khan, Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif, Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar, Justice Khizir Hayat, Justice Md Akhtaruzzaman, Justice Ashish Ranjan Das, Justice SM Maniruzzaman, Justice Khandaker Diliruzzaman, Justice SM Masud Hossain Dolon, Justice Shahed Nuruddin, and Justice Md Aminul Islam.

The allegations were made against the judges regarding irregularities and their roles as government allies on various occasions before 5 August. The Supreme Judicial Council later conducted an investigation and, as per the rules, submitted its report with recommendations to the President.

Earlier on 16 October, Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed sent the 12 judges on leave after allegations of corruption and political bias surfaced. They were subsequently barred from performing judicial duties on High Court benches.

The action was taken in response to protests held on the Supreme Court premises on 16 October, where students demanded the removal of judges accused of being “pro-Awami League” and “fascist.”

On that day, SC Registrar General Aziz Ahmed told the protesters that the 12 judges would no longer be assigned to benches, prompting the students to suspend their protests.

Meanwhile, three other HC judges, who were barred from judicial duties for five years in the wake of an inquiry into allegations against them, resigned on 19 November. They are Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury, Justice Quazi Reza-Ul-Hoque, and Justice AKM Zahirul Hoque.

The then chief justice Syed Mahmud Hossain on 22 August 2019 had asked the three judges to refrain from judicial activities.

According to the rules, the President implements the Supreme Judicial Council’s recommendation regarding judges of the High Court Division and Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

In a decision on 20 October, the Appellate Division revived the Supreme Judicial Council as the mechanism for removing judges, resolving disputes over the process that had arisen under the Awami League government.