প্রধান বিচারপতি ড. সৈয়দ রেফাত আহমেদ। ছবি : সংগৃহীত
Chief justice Syed Refaat Ahmed has extended by a month the leave of High Court judges Md Ashraful Kamal and Md Badruzzaman, who face separate allegations.
According to the reconstruction of High Court benches among the judges on Tuesday, the two judges have been excluded from judicial functions.
So far, seven High Court judges have either been dismissed or have resigned on the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council, led by the chief justice.
The council was reactivated under the interim government formed on August 8, 2024, three days after the fall of the Awami League regime on August 5, 2024 amid a mass uprising.
On August 6, 2024, the Supreme Court Bar Association demanded the removal of judges accused of delivering politically influenced verdicts under the AL regime and called for their resignation within two weeks.
On October 21, 2024, in response to mass student protests over alleged judicial bias during the Awami League’s 15-year rule, the chief justice barred 12 High Court judges from performing any judicial duties.
Justice Ashraful Kamal was first granted sabbatical leave on April 20, stating that he was working on book writing. His leave was later extended on June 3 until July 17, upon his request to complete the writing.
Justice Badruzzaman also sought medical leave on April 20, which was also extended later.
Recently, in the full verdict of the 16th amendment review, two Appellate Division judges, Justice Rezaul Haque and Justice SM Emdadul Haque, accused Justice Ashraful Kamal of judicial misconduct.
They said that he made politically motivated, derogatory, and indecent remarks about late president Ziaur Rahman, describing his language as vulgar and a violation of judicial conduct.
The judges also ordered that Kamal’s remarks be expunged from the official judgment for violating constitutional norms and judicial ethics.
The verdict, written by chief justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and supported by five other judges, was published on the Supreme Court website on June 4.
On October 20, 2024, the six-member Appellate Division bench led by the chief justice unanimously rejected the government’s review petition and upheld the reinstatement of the Supreme Judicial Council, which was introduced by Ziaur Rahman’s fifth amendment in 1979.
Justice Ashraful Kamal is one of the three High Court judges who delivered the 2016 verdict on the 16th amendment.
In his separate opinion, Justice Ashraful described Zia as a ‘usurper’ of state power.
Justice Badruzzaman is the husband of Jannatul Ferdousi Rupa, a former deputy attorney general during the Awami League regime.
On March 9, the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court imposed a travel ban on Rupa in connection with a corruption case.
The Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating allegations that Rupa amassed substantial illegal wealth by accepting money in exchange for arranging bail for accused persons in various cases.