The Supreme Court will deliver its verdict any day on an appeal filed by the government against a High Court judgment that declared the 16th amendment to the constitution illegal. The amendment had empowered Parliament to dismiss Supreme Court judges if allegations of incapability or misconduct made against them were found true. A seven-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, finished hearing the appeal on Thursday. The “Constitution (16th Amendment) Bill-2014” was passed on September 17, 2014, but less than two months later nine Supreme Court lawyers filed a writ petition with the High Court to have the amendment declared illegal and unconstitutional. Following their petition, the High Court on May 5, 2016 declared the amendment illegal but the government challenged the verdict through an appeal lodged on January 4 this year.

Source: Dhaka Tribune June 01, 2017 19:41 UTC