Staff Reporter:
The year 2024 was eventful for the country as nearly 16-year-old Sheikh Hasina regime fell in the face of student-led July-August mass uprising. Sheikh Hasina fled to India and still has been stay-ing there to evade justice. Country’s judiciary too has a fair share of the events in 2024, including the reinstatement of 30 percent Freedom Fighter quota in government service and its repercussions among the concerned quarters.
The High Court on June 5, 2024, declared illegal a government circular issued in 2018 that abol-ished the 30 percent quota system in recruiting first class and second class officers in government services.
A High Court Division bench of Justice KM Kamrul Kader and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order, paving the way for reinstating 30 percent freedom fighter quota in government service.
On August 11, the country got new chief justice as High Court Judge Syed Refaat Ahmed was sworn in as the 25th Chief Justice of Bangladesh. President Mohammed Shahabuddin appointed Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed as the new Chief Justice on August 10, right after Obaidul Hassan stepped down from the post of chief justice.
The government on September 5 reconstituted the prosecution of the International Crimes Tribu-nal (ICT), appointing Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Muhammad Tazul Islam as the chief prose-cutor. Four prosecutors were also appointed according to the section 7 of the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act, 1973.
Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed on September 21 declared zero tolerance against corruption in judiciary, stressing the need for formulating a roadmap to regain the public confidence through establishing transparency and integrity in the judicial process.
The chief justice made the declaration while addressing all judges, lawyers and judicial officials from across the country at the Inner Garden of the Supreme Court here.
On October 14, the ICT was reconstituted with High Court Judge Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder as its new chairman. The other two members of the tribunal are- Justice Md Shofiul Alam Mahmood and retired District and Sessions Judge Md. Mohitul Haq Anam Chowdhury.
The Supreme Judicial Council was reinstated to remove apex court judges for incapacity or violat-ing the code of conduct as the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on October 20 disposed of a plea to review the apex court judgment that had declared the 16th constitutional amendment illegal.
“The Supreme Judicial Council will be able to probe and take steps against apex court judges for incapacity or violating the code of conduct,” senior lawyer Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal, who took part in the hearing, said on that day.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on November 11 allowed two leave to appeal peti-tions filed by BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, staying the High Court order that extended her five-year jail term to 10 years in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.
A three-member apex court bench, headed by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam, passed the order, stating that Khaleda Zia’s sentence would remain stayed until the appeal in the case is decided.
The High Court on November 14 declared two provisions – one giving quick rental power plants immunity from legal bindings and another giving energy minister the sole authority to approve electricity purchase plans, of the quick rental law illegal.
A High Court Division Bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury passed the judgment, declaring absolute a rule it issued on September 2. The court in the rule had asked authorities concerned to explain as to why those two provisions shall not be declared illegal.
The High Court on December 1 acquitted all the people convicted by the lower court in murder and explosives substances act cases filed over the grenade attack on an Awami League rally in the capital’s Bangabandhu Avenue on August 21, 2004.
A High Court division bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain pro-nounced the verdict, scrapping lower court judgment in the two cases. The court came up with the verdict after holding a hearing on the death references, criminal and jail appeals filed in the two cases.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on December 3 started its hearing on a plea filed by the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, challenging the judgment of the High Court that declared the registration of the party illegal.
Supreme Court lawyers Barrister Ehsan A Siddiq and Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir moved the plea before the court, saying the writ, which initiated the whole process to cancel Jamaat’s reg-istration, was politically motivated.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) on October 22 restored Jamaat-e-Islami’s appeal against the High Court verdict, paving the way for the party to take part in the hearing on an ap-peal against the 2013 judgment that had declared its registration as a political party, illegal.
The High Court on December 17 declared scrapping of the caretaker government system in the constitution as illegal.
A HC bench comprising Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debashish Ray Chowdhury pronounced the judgment also restoring the provision of referendum in the constitution.
The court on December 4 concluded the hearing on the plea against scraping of the caretaker gov-ernment system through the 15th amendment of the constitution.
The High Court on December 18 acquitted seven persons, including former state minister for home Lutfuzzaman Babor, who were sentenced to death in the 10 trucks arms haul case in Chattogram.
The High Court bench comprising Justice Mostafa Zaman Islam and Justice Nasrin Akhter pro-nounced the verdict after holding hearing on death reference and appeal petitions of the convicted persons.
There were some notable judgments from the lower courts as well in 2024.
A labour court on January 1 convicted and sentenced Grameen Telecom Chairman and Nobel Lau-reate Dr Muhammad Yunus and three others to six-month jail in a case filed against them for vio-lating labour law.
Later all the convicts were acquitted by the court, allowing their appeals against the conviction.
Dhaka Special Sessions Judge Court on March 13 convicted and sentenced two people to life im-prisonment in a case lodged over the sensational murder of Sagira Morshed in the capital’s Bailey Road area in 1989.
Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-2 on May 9 convicted and sentenced three people including notorious businessman Aziz Mohammad Bhai alias Abdul Aziz to life imprisonment in a case lodged over the murder of actor Sohel Chowdhury in 1998.
Judge Arunabh Chakraborty of Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-2 pronounced the judgment, acquit-ting six others including top terror Sanjidul Islam Emon in the case.
A court here on October 9 sentenced one person to death and four others to life imprisonment in a case lodged over the killing of one Taslima Begum Renu in a mob beating in city’s North Badda area in 2019.
