Special Correspondent :
Law Minister Anisul Haq on Wednesday said that he would not make publicly any counter remarks over the statements of Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha; rather he would talk to the CJ if he has anything to say.
The Minister said this responding to reporters’ request for comments on the CJ’s recent remarks on judiciary-executive relations at his Secretariat office in the city.
Especially, some statements and counter statements of the CJ and the Law Minister in recent days have broadly exposed the ‘misunderstanding’ among the pillars of the state where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had
also tried to cool the situation.
“I’ll not say anything about the comments of CJ…. The media will justify the statements [of CJ] which he had issued in the meantime. So, if I have anything to say, I’ll tell him face-to-face,” the Minister told the journalists.
The CJ last month raised allegation against the government that he was ‘bypassed’ while taking some important decisions about judiciary, particularly the publication of a gazette on judges’ conduct rules [of lower court].
Besides, the CJ claimed that a certain quarter has been trying to create a ‘gap’ between the government and the judiciary.
On April 26, the Law Minister openly criticized the CJ saying that any CJ in other countries usually do not talk so much in public. “If he has any ‘pain’ in his heart, he can share it to the executive branch….No CJ does issue such tempered statements in public,” the Minister said.
Against this backdrop, the CJ on April 30 said there is no rule of law in the country. “Bangladesh is the country where chief justice’s speech is leaked. There is more to talk as the country lacks rule of law,” said the CJ.
At one stage, the CJ said the Supreme Court will not step back from scrapping any law or ruling if they are against the Constitution. “The Constitution has given authority to the SC to make judicial review of any law. In line with the Constitution, the SC has scrapped 5th, 7th, 8th, and 13th amendments to the constitution as they were contrary to the charter,” said CJ Sinha. Earlier on April 28, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged for more cooperation among the judiciary, executive and legislative branches of the state. “These are the three pillars of a state. The state can never function when there is bickering and blaming. I would request all of you to keep that in mind,” she said. “Law is made by the Parliament, the judiciary implements it and the executive branch enforces it. These branches cannot operate separately. So, no one is inferior to the other… they must cooperate,” the PM said.
Apart from the above issue, the relations between the CJ and the government have turned sour nowadays over the installation of Lady Justice statue in front of the SC, removal of which has been demanded by rightist organization Hefazat -e- Islam.
Echoing the same, the PM had advised the CJ either to remove the sculpture of Greek goddess Lady Justice Themis from in front of the SC or take proper initiatives so that it could not be seen from the National Eidgah.
“Without any consultation, a statue of a woman has been installed in front of the SC. Although it is called Lady of Justice’s statue, it is dressed up with sharee….Did the Greek goddess used to wear sharee? Besides, it is installed in such a position which is also visible from the National Eidgah. In fact, it is not an impressive sculpture,” the PM had said.
Law Minister Anisul Haq on Wednesday said that he would not make publicly any counter remarks over the statements of Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha; rather he would talk to the CJ if he has anything to say.
The Minister said this responding to reporters’ request for comments on the CJ’s recent remarks on judiciary-executive relations at his Secretariat office in the city.
Especially, some statements and counter statements of the CJ and the Law Minister in recent days have broadly exposed the ‘misunderstanding’ among the pillars of the state where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had
also tried to cool the situation.
“I’ll not say anything about the comments of CJ…. The media will justify the statements [of CJ] which he had issued in the meantime. So, if I have anything to say, I’ll tell him face-to-face,” the Minister told the journalists.
The CJ last month raised allegation against the government that he was ‘bypassed’ while taking some important decisions about judiciary, particularly the publication of a gazette on judges’ conduct rules [of lower court].
Besides, the CJ claimed that a certain quarter has been trying to create a ‘gap’ between the government and the judiciary.
On April 26, the Law Minister openly criticized the CJ saying that any CJ in other countries usually do not talk so much in public. “If he has any ‘pain’ in his heart, he can share it to the executive branch….No CJ does issue such tempered statements in public,” the Minister said.
Against this backdrop, the CJ on April 30 said there is no rule of law in the country. “Bangladesh is the country where chief justice’s speech is leaked. There is more to talk as the country lacks rule of law,” said the CJ.
At one stage, the CJ said the Supreme Court will not step back from scrapping any law or ruling if they are against the Constitution. “The Constitution has given authority to the SC to make judicial review of any law. In line with the Constitution, the SC has scrapped 5th, 7th, 8th, and 13th amendments to the constitution as they were contrary to the charter,” said CJ Sinha. Earlier on April 28, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged for more cooperation among the judiciary, executive and legislative branches of the state. “These are the three pillars of a state. The state can never function when there is bickering and blaming. I would request all of you to keep that in mind,” she said. “Law is made by the Parliament, the judiciary implements it and the executive branch enforces it. These branches cannot operate separately. So, no one is inferior to the other… they must cooperate,” the PM said.
Apart from the above issue, the relations between the CJ and the government have turned sour nowadays over the installation of Lady Justice statue in front of the SC, removal of which has been demanded by rightist organization Hefazat -e- Islam.
Echoing the same, the PM had advised the CJ either to remove the sculpture of Greek goddess Lady Justice Themis from in front of the SC or take proper initiatives so that it could not be seen from the National Eidgah.
“Without any consultation, a statue of a woman has been installed in front of the SC. Although it is called Lady of Justice’s statue, it is dressed up with sharee….Did the Greek goddess used to wear sharee? Besides, it is installed in such a position which is also visible from the National Eidgah. In fact, it is not an impressive sculpture,” the PM had said.
