Separate Supreme Court secretariat ruling to be appealed: Attorney general

The government will appeal against the High Court directive to establish an independent and separate secretariat for the Supreme Court within three months, Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal has said.

He was speaking to journalists at his office on Wednesday, April 8.

The attorney general said the government will appeal through necessary legal procedures after reviewing the full text of the High Court verdict. The government's position on the matter will be formally announced later.

On April 7, the High Court issued a full verdict directing the establishment of a separate and independent secretariat for the Supreme Court within three months. The bench of Justice Ahmed Sohel and Justice Devashish Roy Chowdhury delivered the verdict.

The verdict stated that an independent and separate secretariat for the judiciary must be established within three months as proposed by the Supreme Court authorities. It also said control and disciplinary powers over subordinate court judges shall rest with the Supreme Court.

The verdict restored the framework of Article 116 of the 1972 constitution, stating that control, promotion, transfer, leave approval and discipline of judicial service personnel shall be vested in the Supreme Court.

The court declared amendments made to Article 116 through the 1975 fourth amendment and subsequent changes as unconstitutional and void. It also declared the Judicial Service (Discipline) Rules 2017 inconsistent with the constitution.

Seven lawyers including Supreme Court lawyer Saddam Hossain filed a writ petition on August 25, 2024. After a preliminary hearing, the High Court issued a rule on October 27, asking why the amendment to Article 116 should not be declared illegal and why a separate judicial secretariat should not be established.

The final verdict was delivered on April 7 after hearing the rule. The ruling has sparked fresh debate between the law ministry and the Supreme Court administration over the judicial control framework.

With the government preparing to appeal, the matter is likely to go to the Appellate Division.