No timeframe to release copies of SC verdicts

Legal experts for specific guidelines

The publication of copies of verdicts given by the higher courts are getting delayed because the judges concerned are taking more time in writing those, resulting in sufferings for litigants. In some cases, it takes about five years to publish the copies of the verdicts. There are no specific guidelines or rules that mandate the publication of copies of judgements given by the High Court Division and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court within a stipulated time.
Soon after taking charge, Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha has taken steps to expedite the disposal of cases and ensure transparency and accountability of the judiciary. Legal experts feel that the chief justice should now take steps in framing guidelines for the Appellate Division as well as the High Court Division for a binding timeframe for publication of verdict copies once the judgement is pronounced.
Eminent lawyer Dr. Shahdeen Malik said the allegation of not releasing copies of the verdict on time is not true for all benches of the HC. He said some benches delay in releasing the verdicts.  
Because of the delay, litigants as well as their lawyers have to wait for a long time for getting the verdict copies, he added.
He suggested that judges in the full-court meeting should take decision on how many days would be needed for publishing copies of the verdict.
“A rule in this regard should be included in the guidelines of the Appellate Division and the High Court Division, considering the greater interest of the judiciary,” he observed.
The lawyer also apprehended that the confidence of people in higher courts might be lost if verdict copies are not published on time because they will wonder if the trial court could give the copies on time, what prevents the higher courts from doing so. Hence, the problem should be resolved considering its importance, he noted.
A writ petition was filed in 2006 challenging the legality of the Warrant of Precedence, 1986.  After hearings, the HC on February 4, 2010 declared the Warrant of Precedence as illegal and issued an eight-point directive to the government to revise it by placing the rank of judges in right positions. Later, the Supreme Court stayed the HC’s order the same year following an appeal by the government.
A five-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by then Chief Justice M Muzammel Hussain finally disposed of the long-pending appeal on January 15 this year. But, the full copy of the verdict is yet to be published. Former Chief Justice, Muzammel Hossain, is still writing the copy of the verdict, sources said.
According to sources, the copy of a civil appeal No. 125/2004, which was finally disposed of by the Appellate Division on June 12, 2012, is yet to be released as the concerned judges have not yet put their signatures on it.
They also said that an Appellate Division judge, who was elevated from the HC Division in 2013, is yet to complete the writing of some copies of the HC verdicts. However, judge of the Appellate Division Justice Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik, who is supposed to retire on the 17th of this month, in a letter recently sent to the chief justice claimed that he has completed writing all the copies of the HC judgements in the meantime.
According to the letter of Justice Manik, former chief justice ABM Khairul Hoque- who retired on May 17 in 2011- took a couple of years to complete his pending judgements.
Former chief justice Tafazzul Islam, who retired on February 7 in 2010, has completed his pending judgements only a couple of months ago. He took more than five years to clear his desk.
Although former chief justice Md Muzammel Hussain retired on January 16 this year, he is yet to complete his pending judgements, sources said.
The judges used to take more time due to the lack of specific rules in this regard. If there is a specific rule for the Appellate Division judges as well as the High Court Division judges over the matter, then the judges will be ready to complete their pending judgements within the stipulated time, an official of the HC said.
The registrar general of the Supreme Court sent a letter to Justice Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik requesting him to complete his pending judgements before going to retirement.
The letter informed Justice Manik that the chief justice asked the registrar general of the Supreme Court not to process the pension matter of Justice Manik until he finishes his pending judgements.
In reply, Justice Manik said there is no existing legislation, practice or precedent by resorting to which the chief justice can ask a colleague judge to complete the writing of judgement before their retirement.
Criminal law expert Khurshid Alam Khan said an accused in the Alam murder case got acquittal order from the High Court four years back, but the copy of the same is yet to be published. Although the accused got acquitted by the HC, he was not released from the jail as the apex court stayed the HC’s order following an appeal by the government. The appellant could not file a leave to appeal petition due to the absence of a certified copy of the verdict, he noted.
Khurshid Alam Khan also said that guidelines should be laid down in HC rules so that litigants can get copies of the verdict on time. Outgoing Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Secretary Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon said they have recently met the chief justice in this regard.
“The SCBA informed him that litigants do not get copies of the verdict on time. They have to wait for more than two or three years in some cases. This problem should be resolved considering the greater interest of people’s confidence in the judiciary,” he said.
He hoped that the chief justice would take effective steps in this regard and said guidelines should be included in the apex court and the HC. Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua said sometimes judges come under pressure to dispose cases of quickly. They have to write many copies of verdicts in a short time since there is huge number of cases pending before the bench.
There should be systematic progress in writing copies of verdicts. Sometimes judges do not get the logistic support as they have to discharge their duties during working hours.
However, Barua said guidelines should be included in the apex court and the HC, specifying the timeframe for verdict copies.

 

 

 

No timeframe to release copies of SC verdicts

Legal experts for specific guidelines

The publication of copies of verdicts given by the higher courts are getting delayed because the judges concerned are taking more time in writing those, resulting in sufferings for litigants. In some cases, it takes about five years to publish the copies of the verdicts. There are no specific guidelines or rules that mandate the publication of copies of judgements given by the High Court Division and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court within a stipulated time. Soon after taking charge, Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha has taken steps to expedite the disposal of cases and ensure transparency and accountability of the judiciary. Legal experts feel that the chief justice should now take steps in framing guidelines for the Appellate Division as well as the High Court Division for a binding timeframe for publication of verdict copies once the judgement is pronounced. Eminent lawyer Dr. Shahdeen Malik said the allegation of not releasing copies of the verdict on time is not true for all benches of the HC. He said some benches delay in releasing the verdicts. Because of the delay, litigants as well as their lawyers have to wait for a long time for getting the verdict copies, he added. He suggested that judges in the full-court meeting should take decision on how many days would be needed for publishing copies of the verdict. A rule in this regard should be included in the guidelines of the Appellate Division and the High Court Division, considering the greater interest of the judiciary, he observed. The lawyer also apprehended that the confidence of people in higher courts might be lost if verdict copies are not published on time because they will wonder if the trial court could give the copies on time, what prevents the higher courts from doing so. Hence, the problem should be resolved considering its importance, he noted. A writ petition was filed in 2006 challenging the legality of the Warrant of Precedence, 1986. After hearings, the HC on February 4, 2010 declared the Warrant of Precedence as illegal and issued an eight-point directive to the government to revise it by placing the rank of judges in right positions. Later, the Supreme Court stayed the HCs order the same year following an appeal by the government. A five-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by then Chief Justice M Muzammel Hussain finally disposed of the long-pending appeal on January 15 this year. But, the full copy of the verdict is yet to be published. Former Chief Justice, Muzammel Hossain, is still writing the copy of the verdict, sources said. According to sources, the copy of a civil appeal No. 125/2004, which was finally disposed of by the Appellate Division on June 12, 2012, is yet to be released as the concerned judges have not yet put their signatures on it. They also said that an Appellate Division judge, who was elevated from the HC Division in 2013, is yet to complete the writing of some copies of the HC verdicts. However, judge of the Appellate Division Justice Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik, who is supposed to retire on the 17th of this month, in a letter recently sent to the chief justice claimed that he has completed writing all the copies of the HC judgements in the meantime. According to the letter of Justice Manik, former chief justice ABM Khairul Hoque- who retired on May 17 in 2011- took a couple of years to complete his pending judgements. Former chief justice Tafazzul Islam, who retired on February 7 in 2010, has completed his pending judgements only a couple of months ago. He took more than five years to clear his desk. Although former chief justice Md Muzammel Hussain retired on January 16 this year, he is yet to complete his pending judgements, sources said. The judges used to take more time due to the lack of specific rules in this regard. If there is a specific rule for the Appellate Division judges as well as the High Court Division judges over the matter, then the judges will be ready to complete their pending judgements within the stipulated time, an official of the HC said. The registrar general of the Supreme Court sent a letter to Justice Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik requesting him to complete his pending judgements before going to retirement. The letter informed Justice Manik that the chief justice asked the registrar general of the Supreme Court not to process the pension matter of Justice Manik until he finishes his pending judgements. In reply, Justice Manik said there is no existing legislation, practice or precedent by resorting to which the chief justice can ask a colleague judge to complete the writing of judgement before their retirement. Criminal law expert Khurshid Alam Khan said an accused in the Alam murder case got acquittal order from the High Court four years back, but the copy of the same is yet to be published. Although the accused got acquitted by the HC, he was not released from the jail as the apex court stayed the HCs order following an appeal by the government. The appellant could not file a leave to appeal petition due to the absence of a certified copy of the verdict, he noted. Khurshid Alam Khan also said that guidelines should be laid down in HC rules so that litigants can get copies of the verdict on time. Outgoing Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Secretary Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon said they have recently met the chief justice in this regard. The SCBA informed him that litigants do not get copies of the verdict on time. They have to wait for more than two or three years in some cases. This problem should be resolved considering the greater interest of peoples confidence in the judiciary, he said. He hoped that the chief justice would take effective steps in this regard and said guidelines should be included in the apex court and the HC. Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua said sometimes judges come under pressure to dispose cases of quickly. They have to write many copies of verdicts in a short time since there is huge number of cases pending before the bench. There should be systematic progress in writing copies of verdicts. Sometimes judges do not get the logistic support as they have to discharge their duties during working hours. However, Barua said guidelines should be included in the apex court and the HC, specifying the timeframe for verdict copies.