The latest appointment of 25 judges to the High Court Division under the Supreme Court has created much hype due to nepotism, while the judiciary has been under severe criticism from various quarters because of the undue influence of the interim government.
Since the fall of the Awami League government in August last year, the countryโs highest court has seen mob attacks and the expulsion of the chief justice and other top judges. Later, BNP-linked Syed Refaat Ahmed was made the chief justice, and Md Asaduzzaman was made the attorney general.
The Law Ministry also appointed BNP- and Jamaat-affiliated lawyers as deputy attorney generals, district judges and public prosecutors, while creating an atmosphere of unchecked mobocracy at the courts, encouraging mob attacks on the detained Awami League leaders and activists, rejection of their bail prayers and approval of remand petitions in false and fictitious cases.
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Using the courts, the Jamaat-controlled interim government, led by civil society leader Muhammad Yunus, has acquitted many terrorists, militants and corrupt people, ordered the withdrawal of thousands of criminal cases, and given bail to many criminals.
The worst example of dictating the judiciary is the restructuring of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) through an executive order and appointing Jamaat-backed judges and prosecutors to try the alleged crimes against humanity by the Awami League leaders and government officials during the July-August anarchy last year, making it a kangaroo court.
To continue the authoritarianism and cling to power, the Law Ministry confirmed the appointment of 25 additional judges to the High Courtโupon consultation with the chief justiceโin a circular issued by Sheikh Abu Taher, secretary of the Law and Justice Division. A senior district and sessions judge, Taher, has also been named in the circular at No. 4.
Another controversial figure in the list is Abdur Rahman, a Supreme Court lawyer, who, a day after his appointment, said that the proportional representation (PR) system must be adopted before holding the next elections, slated for February.
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Notably, the PR system was neither on the agenda of the National Consensus Commission nor among the proposals put forward by the Election Reform Commission. Despite that, the matter is being widely discussed after some pro-Yunus parties, like the National Citizen Party (NCP), Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB), said they would not join the election sans PR system.
The largest party, BNP, opposes the view and says the system can be introduced through the next parliament if deemed necessary.
Another example of nepotism is the appointment of former BNP leader Lutfar Rahman, who is the father-in-law of Md Sarjis Alam, the chief organiser (north) of the NCP.
Lutfar Rahman became a Deputy Attorney General after the August 5 changeover last year, when many judges and lawyers linked to the Jamaat-BNP clique got the interim governmentโs blessings as part of the plan to establish their supremacy and diminish the influence of the Awami League.
He was the joint secretary of BNPโs Barguna district unit and engaged in politics as a lawyer of the Supreme Court.
To counter the allegations of nepotism, Sarjis Alam claimed that his father-in-law fulfilled all eligibility requirements set by the newly formed Supreme Judicial Appointment Council and was selected after a rigorous vetting process.
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