96 addl judges to be promoted soon

The government has finalised a list of 96 additional judges for promotion to the post of district judge for smooth functioning of the judicial system in lower courts. More than 28 lakh cases are now pending in lower courts across the country. These are supposed to be heard and disposed of by the courts of designated judges. Since many such posts are lying vacant, other judges are handling the cases as additional tasks, according to sources in the law ministry. Talking to this correspondent, law minister Anisul Huq said that the government would promote 96 additional judges to the post of district judge soon.

According to sources, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday approved the formation of 41 new “Nari O Shishu Nirjaton Daman (Women and Children Repression Prevention) Tribunals” in different districts to quickly dispose of cases filed against the torture of women and children. At present, 54 such tribunals are operating across the country.

Soon after getting Hasina’s approval, the law ministry has finalised the additional judges for promotion to the post of district judge to quickly dispose of the pending cases, sources said.

It has been learnt that the promotion of the additional judges has been pending for long because of a misunderstanding between the law ministry and the Supreme Court (SC). The last promotion to the post of district judges was made about two and a half years ago.

However, the law ministry and the SC has recently struck a good rapport.

In September last year, the SC had decided to relax for one year a specific condition relating to the promotion of additional district judges on the apprehension that lower courts might face a paucity of district judges in the near future. But the law ministry requested the apex court to reconsider its decision, assuring that an adequate number of additional district judges actually met the promotion criteria.

The SC, in a full court meeting held in early September, decided to relax the provision of two years’ mandatory judicial experience for additional district judges for promotion.

According to Section 4 (1) of the Bangladesh Judicial Service Rules, additional district judges must complete a service period of 15 years, including two years of judicial experience as additional district judge, to be eligible for promotion to the post of a district judge.

The September meeting, attended by judges of the Appellate and High Court (HC) Divisions, decided that additional district judges having 15 years of service record, including two years’ experience as additional district judge or in an equivalent post and six months’ judicial experience as additional district judge, could be promoted to the position of district judge.

Subsequently, the apex court on September 20 sent a letter to the law ministry, requesting it to issue a gazette notification about relaxing the condition relating to the promotion of additional judges during the next one year in compliance with the decision of the full meeting.

But the law ministry sent a letter to the SC, requesting it to reconsider the decision, as there are many experienced additional judges who could be promoted to the post of district judge even without the relaxation of the provision.

Law ministry sources said more than 150 additional judges, who had completed 15 years of service period along with two years of judicial experience as additional district judges, have been working at various places across the country.

The law ministry has finalised the names of the 96 judges from among these judges for promotion to the post of district judge to quickly dispose of cases pending before the lower courts across the country.

 

96 addl judges to be promoted soon

The government has finalised a list of 96 additional judges for promotion to the post of district judge for smooth functioning of the judicial system in lower courts. More than 28 lakh cases are now pending in lower courts across the country. These are supposed to be heard and disposed of by the courts of designated judges. Since many such posts are lying vacant, other judges are handling the cases as additional tasks, according to sources in the law ministry. Talking to this correspondent, law minister Anisul Huq said that the government would promote 96 additional judges to the post of district judge soon. According to sources, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday approved the formation of 41 new Nari O Shishu Nirjaton Daman (Women and Children Repression Prevention) Tribunals in different districts to quickly dispose of cases filed against the torture of women and children. At present, 54 such tribunals are operating across the country. Soon after getting Hasinas approval, the law ministry has finalised the additional judges for promotion to the post of district judge to quickly dispose of the pending cases, sources said. It has been learnt that the promotion of the additional judges has been pending for long because of a misunderstanding between the law ministry and the Supreme Court (SC). The last promotion to the post of district judges was made about two and a half years ago. However, the law ministry and the SC has recently struck a good rapport. In September last year, the SC had decided to relax for one year a specific condition relating to the promotion of additional district judges on the apprehension that lower courts might face a paucity of district judges in the near future. But the law ministry requested the apex court to reconsider its decision, assuring that an adequate number of additional district judges actually met the promotion criteria. The SC, in a full court meeting held in early September, decided to relax the provision of two years mandatory judicial experience for additional district judges for promotion. According to Section 4 (1) of the Bangladesh Judicial Service Rules, additional district judges must complete a service period of 15 years, including two years of judicial experience as additional district judge, to be eligible for promotion to the post of a district judge. The September meeting, attended by judges of the Appellate and High Court (HC) Divisions, decided that additional district judges having 15 years of service record, including two years experience as additional district judge or in an equivalent post and six months judicial experience as additional district judge, could be promoted to the position of district judge. Subsequently, the apex court on September 20 sent a letter to the law ministry, requesting it to issue a gazette notification about relaxing the condition relating to the promotion of additional judges during the next one year in compliance with the decision of the full meeting. But the law ministry sent a letter to the SC, requesting it to reconsider the decision, as there are many experienced additional judges who could be promoted to the post of district judge even without the relaxation of the provision. Law ministry sources said more than 150 additional judges, who had completed 15 years of service period along with two years of judicial experience as additional district judges, have been working at various places across the country. The law ministry has finalised the names of the 96 judges from among these judges for promotion to the post of district judge to quickly dispose of cases pending before the lower courts across the country.