Bangladesh High Court today questioned the legality of the 16th amendment of the country's Constitution that empowers parliament to impeach Supreme Court judges for "incapacity or misconduct."
A two-member High Court bench issued a notice to the government seeking an explanation in two weeks and asked why the amendment should not be declared illegal and annulled.
The notice came on a writ petition filed by nine Supreme Court lawyers seeking to overturn the amendment two months after the parliament amended the Constitution, defying calls from lawyers and political groups to review the decision.
The court served the order on the secretaries or top officials of the Prime Minister's Office, Bangabhaban presidential palace, law ministry and the parliament secretariat.
The parliament, led by ruling Awami League, had passed the amendment bill on September 17 restoring an old provision allowing it to impeach Supreme Court judges for "misconduct and incapacity" and to make the higher judiciary "accountable" to the legislature.
But the writ petition feared the amendment might have been done with a "malafide intension" and that the "judges might feel at risk to pass an order against a lawmaker."
Following the amendment, a Supreme Court judge could be removed by adopting a resolution with a two-third majority in parliament on the basis of a government probe.
Previously, the Supreme Judicial Council, comprising chief justice and two senior most judges of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, was authorised to suggest removal of judges of higher judiciary for misbehaviour and incapacity.
The system was introduced in 1978 by former military ruler-turned-politician Ziaur Rahman, the founder of BNP which is now being headed by his wife ex-premier Khaleda Zia.
The BNP, which boycotted the last national elections and and has no representation in parliament, had opposed the government move to scrap the Judicial Council System.
Several prominent lawyers had also criticised the move saying it would put the legislature at a loggerhead with the Supreme Court.
The issue of reviving Parliament's authority came into focus during the Awami League's 2008-2013 term when some ruling party lawmakers called for the removal of a High Court judge after a series of events centring his remarks about the then Speaker Abdul Hamid, who is now the President.
