Ehsanul Haque Jasim :
In a departure from convention, Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik, a judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, was not accorded farewell on his last working day on Thursday.
Justice Shamsuddin, who is involved in many controversies, will retire on October 1.
He passed his last working day on Thursday as the Supreme Court went on vacation from Friday.
It is an `unprecedented departure`, as alongside the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), the Attorney General Office and others also refrained from bidding farewell to Justice Shamsuddin.
The SCBA did not organise farewell ceremony for the judge for a host of reasons. The pro-BNP lawyers’ dominated organisation earlier adopted a resolution, deciding not to give farewell to Justice Shamsuddin and condemning his controversial role at different times.
The Attorney General Office also did not arrange farewell ceremony for him.
It is the convention that the SCBA and the Attorney General Office accord farewell reception to a judge of the High Court and the Appellate Division on his last working day.
SCBA President Advocate Khandker Mahbub Hossain said that such departure of a judge of the Supreme Court is unprecedented, as nobody arranged farewell ceremony for him.
“Sometime, it is seen that the SCBA does not arrange farewell, but the Attorney General Office or the pro-government lawyers, or any other arrange reception programme. But it was different for the first time in case of Justice Shamsuddin,” he said.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said that they could not arrange farewell ceremony for Justice Shamsuddin, as he was not at any bench of the apex court. He was excluded from the bench since September 9 as per the order of Chief Justice SK Sinha.
Justice Shamsuddin again became engaged in controversy by seeking impeachment of the Chief Justice, as he was deprived of sitting at a bench of the apex court. He earlier reportedly recorded a conversation between the Chief Justice and himself and the record went to Bengali daily Janakantha, which published it.
The appointment of Justice Shamsuddin in the Appellate Division had also created controversy in that time. Justice Shamsuddin, when he was a HC judge in 2012, was sharply criticised by political leaders, MPs and others over his remark on Parliament’s Speaker. Lastly, Speaker Abdul Hamid had issued a ruling accusing him of violating the Constitution.
The judge also came under attack, which incident was also unprecedented. Miscreants attacked him in London on June 27 in 2012. Advocate Khandker Mahbub Hossain criticised Justice Shamsuddin for seeking impeachment of the Chief Justice. The SCBA President said, “It is odd on the part of a sitting Supreme Court judge to send letter to the President seeking removal of the Chief Justice out of personal vengeance. It tarnishes the image of the judiciary. Such letter by an Appellate Division judge is unprecedented.”
He said that Justice Shamsuddin used to summon dignified persons of the society and humiliate them, when he was a High Court Division judge. Those behaviours were also discourteous. He alleged that Justice Shamsuddin has put many justice seekers in trouble, by not signing in the judgments. He did not even write many judgments, which he delivered as an HC judge.
Meanwhile, the SCBA in its resolution proposed to launch an enquiry against the irregularities of Justice Shamsuddin through the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and requested the Chief Justice not to release his pension and other benefits until the inquiry ends.
The resolution also says that lawyer MU Ahmed died due to Justice Shamsuddin. He sent 14 lawyers to jail by filing a case against them. The lawyers had opposed his reception, as he was discourteous to many of the lawyers.
In a departure from convention, Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik, a judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, was not accorded farewell on his last working day on Thursday.
Justice Shamsuddin, who is involved in many controversies, will retire on October 1.
He passed his last working day on Thursday as the Supreme Court went on vacation from Friday.
It is an `unprecedented departure`, as alongside the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), the Attorney General Office and others also refrained from bidding farewell to Justice Shamsuddin.
The SCBA did not organise farewell ceremony for the judge for a host of reasons. The pro-BNP lawyers’ dominated organisation earlier adopted a resolution, deciding not to give farewell to Justice Shamsuddin and condemning his controversial role at different times.
The Attorney General Office also did not arrange farewell ceremony for him.
It is the convention that the SCBA and the Attorney General Office accord farewell reception to a judge of the High Court and the Appellate Division on his last working day.
SCBA President Advocate Khandker Mahbub Hossain said that such departure of a judge of the Supreme Court is unprecedented, as nobody arranged farewell ceremony for him.
“Sometime, it is seen that the SCBA does not arrange farewell, but the Attorney General Office or the pro-government lawyers, or any other arrange reception programme. But it was different for the first time in case of Justice Shamsuddin,” he said.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said that they could not arrange farewell ceremony for Justice Shamsuddin, as he was not at any bench of the apex court. He was excluded from the bench since September 9 as per the order of Chief Justice SK Sinha.
Justice Shamsuddin again became engaged in controversy by seeking impeachment of the Chief Justice, as he was deprived of sitting at a bench of the apex court. He earlier reportedly recorded a conversation between the Chief Justice and himself and the record went to Bengali daily Janakantha, which published it.
The appointment of Justice Shamsuddin in the Appellate Division had also created controversy in that time. Justice Shamsuddin, when he was a HC judge in 2012, was sharply criticised by political leaders, MPs and others over his remark on Parliament’s Speaker. Lastly, Speaker Abdul Hamid had issued a ruling accusing him of violating the Constitution.
The judge also came under attack, which incident was also unprecedented. Miscreants attacked him in London on June 27 in 2012. Advocate Khandker Mahbub Hossain criticised Justice Shamsuddin for seeking impeachment of the Chief Justice. The SCBA President said, “It is odd on the part of a sitting Supreme Court judge to send letter to the President seeking removal of the Chief Justice out of personal vengeance. It tarnishes the image of the judiciary. Such letter by an Appellate Division judge is unprecedented.”
He said that Justice Shamsuddin used to summon dignified persons of the society and humiliate them, when he was a High Court Division judge. Those behaviours were also discourteous. He alleged that Justice Shamsuddin has put many justice seekers in trouble, by not signing in the judgments. He did not even write many judgments, which he delivered as an HC judge.
Meanwhile, the SCBA in its resolution proposed to launch an enquiry against the irregularities of Justice Shamsuddin through the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and requested the Chief Justice not to release his pension and other benefits until the inquiry ends.
The resolution also says that lawyer MU Ahmed died due to Justice Shamsuddin. He sent 14 lawyers to jail by filing a case against them. The lawyers had opposed his reception, as he was discourteous to many of the lawyers.
