Staff Reporter :
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam has said, a constitutional vacuum is prevailing in removing Supreme Court judges after the High Court declared illegal the 16th amendment to the Constitution.
“There is no system to remove a judge if allegation is raised against him or her,” the Attorney General said while addressing a press briefing at his office in the city on Monday.
The High Court in a verdict on May 5, 2016 declared that the amendment is illegal, unconstitutional and against the principles of the separation of State powers and the independence of the judiciary.
With the scrapping of the 16th constitutional amendment, the Jatiya Sangsad again lost the power to remove SC judges on grounds of incapacity or misconduct.
The amendment brought to the Constitution in 2014 abolished the Chief justice-led Supreme Judicial Council system which was introduced in 1978 and restored the Parliament’s authority to remove SC judges.
The Attorney General said, the government will file an appeal with the Supreme Court against the High Court verdict which scrapped the 16th amendment within a month.
Mahbubey Alam thinks, the Appellate Division’s order was implemented through the 16th amendment. Besides, the provision of 1972 Constitution about removal of SC judges had been restored through the amendment, he said.
The Appellate Division in its 5th amendment had ruled for keeping the power of removing of the SC judges to the Parliament, he said.
The Attorney General said, judge removal power in most of the countries of the world is in Parliament as it represents the people.
He added: “Provision of Supreme Judicial Council for removal of SC judges had been incorporated in the Constitution during the regime of Pakistani General Ayub Khan. If the provision of Khan’s regime is restored the spirit of Liberation War and struggle for Independence will go in vein.”
After passing of the amendment in Parliament a writ was filed with the High Court challenging it on November 5, 2014. Hearing the petition the High Court issued a rule. On May 5 this year, the HC declared the rule absolute.
