Law Minister Anisul Huq has rubbished the BNP’s allegation that empowering Parliament to remove judges will constrict them and made it clear they will not face impeachment for their verdicts. He spoke to journalists on Sunday on the BNP’s criticism before tabling a bill for the 16th Constitutional Amendment that would return that power to the legislators. BNP’s spokesperson Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir claimed pushing through the Amendment will mean the end of justice in Bangladesh. Responding to a journalist’s query, Minister Huq said, “The judges will only face impeachment if allegations of misconduct or incompetence against them are proven.” Bangladesh’s first Constitution empowered Parliament to remove Supreme Court judges. However, the power was bestowed on the president through the 4th Amendment in 1975. During the regime of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, a Supreme Judicial Council was formed through a military after the 4th Amendment was scrapped. The law is still in force. Sheikh Hasina’s government is bringing in the 16th Amendment to return Parliament the authority to judges. Minister Huq clarified that the judges would not face impeachment for the cases they judge. “The freedom of the judges will not get curbed even a bit,” he said after inaugurating a weeklong training for special judges and judicial officials in Dhaka. However, the BNP has been alleging that the government wants to take full control of the judiciary by amending the Constitution, a charge the government has been denying all along. “The law will be enacted in such a way so that it is not misused,” the law minister remarked. – bdnews24.com
