Shortage of HC judges delays case disposal

No new judges appointed in 4 yrs

The High Court (HC) has been experiencing a shortage of judges, as no new judge has been appointed to that division of the Supreme Court (SC) for about four years, while during the same period 11 judges either retired or were promoted to the Appellate Division. Legal experts said the number of pending cases in the HC has been rising exponentially due to the shortage of judges, causing undue sufferings for litigants. The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) leaders however said they requested new Chief Justice MM Ruhul Amin to take steps for appointing more judges to the HC for quick adjudication of the pending cases. Outgoing Chief Justice Md Ruhul Amin retired on May 31 and Justice MM Ruhul Amin took over the office on June 1. A judge from the HC Division is expected to be promoted to the Appellate Division to fill up the vacancy created by the outgoing chief justice's retirement and Justice MM Ruhul Amin's promotion. SCBA President Barrister Shafique Ahmed yesterday said a good number of cases have been pending in both the Appellate and HC divisions. "We met the new chief justice after he took over the office and requested him to take steps to appoint competent, experienced, and honest persons as judges to the Supreme Court," he said. The chief justice also assured them of looking into the matter, he added. Among the Appellate Division judges, Justice Md Hassan Ameen will retire on July 3, 2008, Justice MM Ruhul Amin will retire on December 23, 2009, Justice Md Joynul Abedin on January 1, 2010, Justice Md Tafazzal Islam on February 8, 2010, Justice Md Abdul Matin on February 26, 2010, and Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim will retire on September 30, 2010. The last time, 19 additional judges were appointed to the HC, was on August 23, 2004, bringing up the number of HC judges to 72, which now has dropped to 61, while in the Appellate Division following Chief Justice Md Ruhul Amin's retirement the number stands at six.A former judge of the Appellate Division, Justice Golam Rabbani, recently at an event told The Daily Star that judges should be appointed under the previous rules, not under the present rules."According to the previous rules for appointing judges to the Supreme Court, the chief justice used to recommend to the president, names of nominees for appointment as judges to the Appellate and HC divisions. It is the chief justice, who knows well the skills, characters, levels of competence, honesty, and conscience of prospective persons," he said.Now the law, justice and parliamentary affairs ministry recommends to the president the names of nominees for positions of judges, Justice Rabbani added."The system of appointing judges to the higher judiciary was changed during the immediate past regime of BNP-led four-party alliance government, making way for appointing the judges on political consideration," he said.He also said the Supreme Judicial Commission cannot start functioning yet, as two members of the commission must come from parliament members, but there is no parliament now. Dr M Zahir said the rate of case disposal in the HC got reduced due to the shortage of judges in the court."I am hoping that new competent judges will be appointed to the HC and Appellate divisions for quick and better dispensation of justice," he said.A former judge of the HC Justice Syed Amirul Islam said the rate of case disposal will increase in both higher and lower judiciaries if more judges are appointed. "A small number of judges despite their best efforts just can't adjudicate the cases as fast as they pile up, and that might start affecting the justice delivery system adversely," he said.Appointment of judges to the SC through the Supreme Judicial Commission is not a good procedure, as the government will end up having the upper hand and the final say on the matter, he added."The opinion of the judiciary will not have primacy regarding appointment of judges to the SC. The present government reserves the absolute right to appoint judges to the SC, just like previous elected governments. There might be cases where proper persons will not be chosen as judges," he said.Justice Syed Amirul Islam said the situation can be remedied to some extent by reviving the previous rules for appointing judges to the higher judiciary.
Ashutosh Sarkar
www.thedailystar.net