Govt gets more time to publish disciplinary rules for judges

The Appellate Division on Sunday gave the government four weeks’ time afresh to notify the disciplinary rules for lower court judges in official gazette.

A five-member bench, headed by chief justice in-charge Md Abdul Wahhab Miah, extended the time until November 5 after a petition seeking four-week time was submitted by attorney general Mahbubey Alam.  

Earlier on August 20, a six-judge bench of the apex court chaired by chief justice SK Sinha said that the judiciary demonstrated ‘enough patience’ on the issue of the disciplinary rules for the subordinate court judges.

The court, however, set October 8 to notify the disciplinary rules following another time-petition filed by the attorney general.  

On July 30, the apex court declined to accept the draft of the disciplinary rules and code of conduct for lower court judges which was earlier submitted by the law minister to the chief justice, and proposed a meeting with the government to settle the issue. 

Earlier on several occasions, the apex court expressed dissatisfaction at the government's failure to issue the gazette notification.

The lower judiciary was officially separated in November 2007 but the disciplinary rules for lower court judges were yet to be formulated.

On December 2, 1999, the Supreme Court in the Masdar Hossain case issued a seven-point directive, including formulating separate disciplinary rules, for the lower court judges.

The law ministry on May 7, 2015 sent a draft of the rules to the Supreme Court which is similar to the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules 1985.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net