The Supreme Court of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশ সুপ্রীম কোর্ট) is the highest court of law in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
. It is composed of the High Court Division and the Appellate Division, and was created by Part VI Chapter I (article 94) of the
Constitution of Bangladesh adopted in 1972. This is also the office of the
Chief Justice,
Appellate Division Justices, and
High Court Division
The High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh ( bn, হাইকোর্ট ডিভিশন) popularly known as the 'High Court' is one of the two divisions of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the other division being the Appellate D ...
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
s of Bangladesh. As of December 2022, there are 9
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
s in Appellate Division and 92 Justices (81 are permanent and 11 are additional) in High Court Division.
[List of Judges in Supreme Court of Bangladesh](_blank)
SupremeCourt.gov.bd
Structure
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh is divided into two parts: the Appellate Division and the High Court Division. The High Court Division hears appeals from lower courts and tribunals; it also has
original jurisdiction
In common law legal systems original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision.
India
In India, the Su ...
in certain limited cases, such as
writ
In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...
applications under Article 101 of the
Constitution of Bangladesh, and company and
admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
matters. The Appellate Division has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the High Court Division under article 103 of the constitution of Bangladesh. The Supreme Court is independent of the
executive branch
The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state.
In political systems ...
, and is able to rule against the government in politically controversial cases.
The
Chief Justice of Bangladesh and other judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the
President of Bangladesh with prior mandatory consultation with the Prime Minister.
The entry point to the seat of judges in the High Court Division is the post of Additional Judge who are appointed from the practising Advocates of the Supreme Court Bar Association and from the judicial service under the provision of Article 98 of the constitution for a period of two years. The current ratio of such appointment is 80%–20%. Upon successful completion of this period and upon recommendation by the
Chief Justice an Additional Judge is appointed permanently by the
President of Bangladesh under the provision of Article 95 of the Constitution. The judges of the Appellate Division are also appointed by the
President of Bangladesh under the same provision. All such appointments come into effect on and from the date of taking oath by the appointee under the provision of Article 148 of the constitution.
A judge of the Bangladesh Supreme Court holds office until they attain the age of 67 years as extended by the provision of article 95 of Constitution (Thirteenth) Amendment Act, 2004 (Act 14 of 2004). A retiring judge faces disability in pleading or acting before any court or authority or holding any office of profit in the service of the republic, not being a judicial or quasi-judicial office or the office of the
Chief Adviser or Adviser.
A Supreme Court judge is not removable from office except in accordance with the provision of Article 96 of the Constitution which provides for Supreme Judicial Council empowering it to remove a judge of the supreme court from office upon allowing the delinquent judge an opportunity of being heard. The supreme judicial council is constituted with the
Chief Justice of Bangladesh and next two senior judge of the Appellate Division, provided if at any time the Council inquiring into the capacity or conduct of a judge who is a member of the supreme judicial council, or a member of the council is absent or is unable to act due to illness or other cause, the judge who is the next in seniority to those who are members of the Council shall act as such member.
Supreme court judges are independent in their judicial function as empowered through article 94(4) of the Constitution.
Judgments
As per Article 111 of the Constitution of Bangladesh, 1972, the Supreme Court judgments have binding effects and the article provides that the law declared by the Appellate Division shall be binding on the High Court Division and the law declared by either division of the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts subordinate to it.
These judgements are usually summarised in the ''Bangladesh Supreme Court Digest''. There are also many
law reports which publish the judgments and orders of the Supreme Court. All these law reports are in printed volumes. The ''Chancery Law Chronicles'' offers the online service of judgments of Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
Language
Although
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
is the only state language of Bangladesh in accordance with the article 3 of the
Constitution of Bangladesh, the verdicts given by the judges at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh are frequently in English following the
colonial tradition of the British rule, violating the
Bengali Language Implementation Act, 1987
Bangla Bhasha Procholon Ain, 1987 ( bn, বাংলা ভাষা প্রচলন আইন, ১৯৮৭, lit=Bengali Language Implementation Act, 1987) is an Act by the Government of Bangladesh to implement and enforce the article 3 of the ...
.
Sheikh Hasina, the incumbent and longest serving
Prime Minister of Bangladesh
The Prime Minister of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী, translit=Bangladesher Prodhanmontri), officially Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজা ...
, suggested that the judges should deliver their verdicts in Bengali so that every Bangladeshi can read them, and, later on if need be, the verdicts could be translated into English.
Muhammad Habibur Rahman, a former
Chief Justice of Bangladesh stated that if justice is a virtue and a service to the people, then verdicts should be given in Bengali.
He also stated that if the people of the country want that all works in the Supreme Court must be operated in Bengali, then the representatives of the people in the
Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament of Bangladesh) must enact and implement law to ensure the use of Bengali in the Supreme Court.
Justices
Sitting justices of the Appellate Division
Sitting Permanent Judges of the High Court Division
#Madam Justice
Salma Masud Chowdhury
Salma Masud Chowdhury (born 13 December 1957) is a Bangladeshi justice of the High Court Division
The High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh ( bn, হাইকোর্ট ডিভিশন) popularly known as the 'High Court' is on ...
#Justice
Muhammad Abdul Hafiz
Muhammad Abdul Hafiz is a judge of the High Court Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court.
Early life
Hafiz was born on 1 June 1967. He completed his bachelor's degree and masters at the University of Dhaka.
Career
Hafiz joined the Dhaka Distri ...
#Justice Dr.
Syed Refaat Ahmed
Syed Refat Ahmed is a justice of the Bangladesh Supreme Court and former judge of the Bangladesh High Court.
Early life
Ahmed studied law at the Wadham College of Oxford University in 1983. He studied International Relations at The Fletcher School ...
#Justice
A. K. M. Asaduzzaman
#Justice
Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury
Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury (born 18 May 1961) is a Bangladeshi justice of the High Court Division Supreme Court of Bangladesh
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশ সুপ্রীম কোর্ট) is the highest ...
#Justice
Md. Rais Uddin
#Justice
Md. Emdadul Haque Azad
#Justice
Md. Ataur Rahman Khan
#Justice
Syed Md. Ziaul Karim
#Justice
Md. Rezaul Haque
#Justice
Sheikh Abdul Awal
Sheikh Abdul Awal is a judge of the High Court Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court.
Early life
Awal was born on 4 June 1960 to Sheikh Yousuff Ali and Saleha Begum. He completed a M.A., M.S.S., and law degree.
Career
Awal became a lawyer ...
#Justice
S. M. Emdadul Hoque
#Justice
Mamnoon Rahman
Mamnoon Rahman (born 9 December 1965) is a Bangladeshi justice of the High Court Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court. He was appointed in 2004.
Early life and education
Rahman was born on 9 December 1965. He obtained his bachelors and master ...
#Madam Justice
Farah Mahbub
#Justice
Md. Moinul Islam Chowdhury Md. Moinul Islam Chowdhury is a Judge of the High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, High Court Division of Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Supreme Court.
Early life
Chowdhury was born on 7 April 1957. He completed his bachelors ...
#Madam Justice
Naima Haider
#Justice
Md. Rezaul Hasan
#Justice
A. N. M. Bashir Ullah
#Justice Abdur Rob
#Justice Dr. Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque
#Justice A. K. M. Zahirul Hoque
#Justice
Sheikh Md. Zakir Hossain
#Justice
Md. Habibul Gani
#Justice
Gobinda Chandra Tagore
#Justice
Sheikh Hassan Arif
#Justice
J. B. M. Hassan
#Justice
Md. Ruhul Quddus
#Justice
Md. Khasruzzaman
#Justice
Farid Ahmed
#Justice
Md. Nazrul Islam Talukder
#Justice
M Akram Hossain Chowdhury
M, or m, is the thirteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''em'' (pronounced ), plural ''ems''.
History
T ...
#Justice M Ashraful Kamal
#Justice
K. M. Kamrul Kader
#Justice
Md. Mozibur Rahman Miah
#Justice Mostofa Zaman Islam
#Justice Mohammadullah
#Justice
Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar
Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar is a Judge on the High Court Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court.
Early life
Sarkar was born on 1 March 1972. He completed his bachelor's degree and masters in law from the University of Dhaka. He also completed a ...
#Justice
A K M Shahidul Haque
#Justice
Shahidul Karim
#Justice
Mohammad Jahangir Hossain
#Justice
Abu Taher Mohammad Saifur Rahman
#Justice
Ashish Ranjan Das
#Justice Mahmudul Haque
#Justice
Badruzzaman Badol
#Justice Zafar Ahmed
#Justice
Kazi Md. Ejarul Haque Akondo
#Justice
Md. Shahinur Islam
#Madam Justice
Kashefa Hussain
#Justice
Khizir Ahmed Choudhury
#Justice
Razik-Al-Jalil
#Justice
Bhishmadev Chakrabortty
#Justice
Md. Iqbal Kabir
#Justice Md. Salim
#Justice
Md. Shohrowardi
#Justice Md. Abu Ahmed Jamadar
#Justice A. S. M. Abdul Mobin
#Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman
#Madam Justice
Fatema Najib
#Justice Md. Kamrul Hossain Molla
#Justice SM Kuddus Zaman
#Justice Md. Atowar Rahman
#Justice Khizir Hayat
#Justice
Shashanka Shekhar Sarkar
#Justice Mohammad Ali
#Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim
#Justice
Md. Riaz Uddin Khan
#Justice M Khairul Alam
#Justice
S. M. Moniruzzaman
#Justice
Ahmed Sohel
#Justice
Sardar Mohammad Rashed Jahangir
#Justice
Khondaker Diliruzzaman
#Justice KM Hafizul Alam
#Justice
Muhammad Mahbub-Ul-Islam
#Justice
Shahed Nuruddin
#Justice Md Zakir Hossain
#Justice
Md Akhtaruzzaman
#Justice
Md Mahmud Hasan Talukder
#Justice
Kazi Ebadoth Hossain
#Justice
K. M. Zahid Sarwar
#Justice
AKM Zahirul Haque
#Madam Justice
Kazi Zinat Hoque
Kazi Zinat Hoque is a Judge on the High Court Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court.
Early life
Hoque was born to Justice Kazi Ebadul Haque and Dr. Sharifa Khatun on 14 October 1974. Hoque completed her bachelor's degree and Masters in law fr ...
Sitting Additional Judges of the High Court Division
#Justice Mohammad Showkat Ali Chowdhur
#Justice Md. Atabullah
#Justice Biswajit Debnath
#Justice Md. Aminul Islam
#Justice Md. Ali Reza
#Justice Md. Bazlur Rahman
#Justice K. M. Emrul Kayesh
#Justice Fahmida Quader
#Justice Md. Bashir Ullah
#Justice S M Masud Hossain Dolon
#Justice A. K. M. Rabiul Hassan
Former Chief Justice
Surendra Kumar Sinha, Surandra Kumar Sinha was the first
justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
appointed from
Monipuri or any minority
Ethnic groups in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is the eighth-most populated country in the world with almost 2.2% of the world's population. As per the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, the country's population is 165,158,616.
Bangladesh (previously East Pakistan between 1947 and 197 ...
. Former Justice
Bhabani Prasad Sinha is also from the same community.
Madame Justice
Nazmun Ara Sultana
Nazmun Ara Sultana (born July 8, 1950) first woman in Bangladesh to serve as head of an Appellate Division bench in Supreme Court. Supreme Court, the apex court that gives a final verdict in the country's judicial system. Nazmun Ara Sultana took ...
was the first ever female justice, and Madame Justice
Krishna Debnath is the first female
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
justice of Bangladesh. There are currently seven female justices in the supreme court.
Controversy
In 2004, Justice
Syed Shahidur Rahman was terminated by President
Iajuddin Ahmed on corruption allegation.
Former
Chief Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim withheld the oath taking of Justice
Md. Ruhul Quddus (Babu) as he was involved in the murder of Aaslam, a pro-
Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh student of
Rajshahi University, on 17 November 1988, when he was a leader of
Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), and Justice
Mohammad Khosruzzaman was overtly involved in
contempt of court
Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...
on 30 November 2006.
Justice
Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman, an appellate division judge, first ever among these judges, resigned on 12 May 2011 due to supersession, as he was presumed to be the
Chief Justice of Bangladesh on 18 May 2011.
Justice
Mohammad Nizamul Huq resigned from the post of
International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 chairman on 11 December 2012 amid controversy for holding
Skype
Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, debi ...
conversations with an expatriate Bangladeshi legal expert based in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
.
President of Bangladesh ordered for formation of a
Supreme Judicial Council
Supreme may refer to:
Entertainment
* Supreme (character), a comic book superhero
* ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film
* Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer
* "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams
* The Supremes, Motown-e ...
to investigate alleged misconduct of High Court judge Justice Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan after he distributed copies of a 17 February The
Daily Inqilab report, termed slain (on 15 February 2013)
2013 Shahbag protests activist and blogger
Ahmed Rajib Haider
Ahmed Rajib Haider (died 15 February 2013) was a Bangladeshi atheist blogger. He used to blog in the blogging communities namely Somewhereinblog.net, Amarblog.com and Nagorikblog.com and used the pseudonym Thaba Baba.
On 15 February 2013, aft ...
was a ''moortad'' (
heretic
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important relig ...
), among the justices of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
Justice
A B M Altaf Hossain was not confirmed as a permanent justice on 12 June 2014 despite recommendation from the
Chief Justice of Bangladesh. So he has served legal notices to the top bureaucrats of Bangladesh government to reinstate him within 72 hours.
Chief Justice
Surendra Kumar Sinha resigned on 11 November 2017 from
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
while on a leave, and transiting from
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
. Later on former Chief Justice
Surendra Kumar Sinha was sentenced in absentia to 11 years in jail for money laundering and criminal breach of trust.
Former justice
AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik
AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik is a retired judge of the Appellate Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court who gained notoriety for a number of controversial cases. He was also criticized for submitting verdicts in cases after retirement. Because of h ...
, a judge of the appellate Division of Supreme Court of Bangladesh gained notoriety for number of controversies.In 2003, he accused traffic police officers of contempt of court for not saluting his car while it was passing. The then
Inspector General of Police of
Bangladesh Police
The Bangladesh Police ( bn, বাংলাদেশ পুলিশ) of the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a law enforcement agency, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcemen ...
,
Shahudul Haque, issued a rejoinder that said traffic police are under no obligations to salute anyone and they could do so if it was safe. Bangladesh High Court bench of Justice M A Matin and Justice
Syed Refat Ahmedissued a contempt of court charge against Haque which automatically removed him from the post of Inspector General according to the law. The government of Bangladesh secured a presidential pardon that protected Haque's job.
He was also criticised for his vitriolic attack on various politicians including Speaker and members of the Parliament.
See also
*
Caretaker Government of Bangladesh
*
Executive Magistrate of Bangladesh
The Executive Magistrate ( bn, নির্বাহী ম্যাজিস্ট্রেট) is the magistrate of the executive organ of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The members of the Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) i.e. ...
References
External links
*
Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, BangladeshBangladesh Bar CouncilChancery Law Chronicles-First ever Online Database of Bangladesh LawsBangladesh Law Digest – BDLD
{{DEFAULTSORT:Supreme Court Of Bangladesh
Government of Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
1972 establishments in Bangladesh
Courts and tribunals established in 1972