Staff Reporter :
The Supreme Court (SC) on Sunday directed the government to publish a gazette notification on the rules determining the guidelines of lower court judges by February 5.
A seven-member bench of Appellate Division headed by the Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the order after hearing a petition moved by Attorney General Mahbubey Alam seeking four weeks’ time for the issuance of the gazette notification.
On December 12 last year, the apex court asked the Law Ministry to issue a gazette notification on the rules by January 15, adjourning the hearing on the Masdar Hossain case, also known as the separation of the judiciary case, till that date.
Earlier, the SC granted time-petitions of the government several times to publish the gazette notification. The apex court also summoned two Secretaries of the Law Ministry on December 8 as the notification was not published.
The two Secretaries, A S S M Zahirul Haque and Md Shahidul Haque, of the Law Ministry on December 12 appeared in the court complying with the apex court’s order.
But on December 11, the Law Ministry said in a notification, the President decided that the rules, determining the guidelines of lower court judges, did not need to be published in a gazette notification.
The court on December 12 last year observed that the president has been misinformed about issuance of the gazette notification.
The apex court passed the directive a day after the Law Ministry issued a notification, which said the President decided not to issue a separate gazette notification on the conduct rules. Officials of the Ministry would not have done this if they had the minimum knowledge, the court said.
Appellate Division gave 12 directives in the verdict of Masdar Hossain case. To formulate the rules determining the guidelines of lower court judges was among those directives.
The Law Ministry sent a draft rules on May 7 last year to the SC, which amended that draft but the Ministry didn’t publish a gazette notification yet.
The Supreme Court (SC) on Sunday directed the government to publish a gazette notification on the rules determining the guidelines of lower court judges by February 5.
A seven-member bench of Appellate Division headed by the Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the order after hearing a petition moved by Attorney General Mahbubey Alam seeking four weeks’ time for the issuance of the gazette notification.
On December 12 last year, the apex court asked the Law Ministry to issue a gazette notification on the rules by January 15, adjourning the hearing on the Masdar Hossain case, also known as the separation of the judiciary case, till that date.
Earlier, the SC granted time-petitions of the government several times to publish the gazette notification. The apex court also summoned two Secretaries of the Law Ministry on December 8 as the notification was not published.
The two Secretaries, A S S M Zahirul Haque and Md Shahidul Haque, of the Law Ministry on December 12 appeared in the court complying with the apex court’s order.
But on December 11, the Law Ministry said in a notification, the President decided that the rules, determining the guidelines of lower court judges, did not need to be published in a gazette notification.
The court on December 12 last year observed that the president has been misinformed about issuance of the gazette notification.
The apex court passed the directive a day after the Law Ministry issued a notification, which said the President decided not to issue a separate gazette notification on the conduct rules. Officials of the Ministry would not have done this if they had the minimum knowledge, the court said.
Appellate Division gave 12 directives in the verdict of Masdar Hossain case. To formulate the rules determining the guidelines of lower court judges was among those directives.
The Law Ministry sent a draft rules on May 7 last year to the SC, which amended that draft but the Ministry didn’t publish a gazette notification yet.
