Staff Reporter :
Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain administered oath to 18 High Court judges on Saturday night although they were earlier sworn in virtually the same day.
The 18 HC judges were requested to go to the Judges’ Lounge of the Supreme Court building on Saturday night for taking oath in the traditional way.
The chief justice administered the oaths in his office room in the Supreme Court building at 9:30 pm on Saturday, said a notification issued by Md Saifur Rahman, spokesperson of the Supreme Court.
Judges of the Appellate Division and other judges of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court were not present during the night ceremony. “The chief justice felt the need of administering the oath for the second time as the virtual oath taking was not clearly heard due to some technical problems,” also read the notification.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told the reporters there was a rule under Article 148 of the Constitution for the persons— the one who administers oath and one who takes it— to be physically present at the same time during the oath taking. Now there is no scope for raising any question about the 18 HC judges in this regard, he said.
Virtual oath was administered to the HC judges due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, the attorney general said in reply to a question.
Earlier at 3:00 pm on Saturday, Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain administered oath to the 18 High Court judges through video conference.
The 18 judges are: Justice Md Abu Ahmed Jamadar, Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman, Justice Fatema Najib, Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Molla, Justice SM Quddus Jaman, Justice Md Atoar Rahman, Justice SM Abdul Mobin, Justice Khizir Hayat, Justice Shashangka Shekhor Sarkar, Justice Mohammad Ali, Justice Mohiuddin Shamim, Justice Md Riaz Uddin Khan, Justice Md Khairul Alam, Justice SM Moniruzzaman, Justice Ahmed Sohel, Justice Sardar Md Rashed Jahangir, Justice Khondaker Diliruzzaman, and Justice KM Hafizul Alam.
On May 30, 2018, President Md Abdul Hamid appointed them additional judges of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court for two years.
A candidate is initially appointed as an additional judge of the High Court for a two-year period and the appointment is later made permanent if the authority is satisfied with their judicial work.
