Court Correspondent
A Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Idrisur Rahman yesterday filed an appeal with the apex court as a public interest litigation challenging the HC verdict.
In response to the appeal, yesterday scrapped the HC order that declared the president’s order illegal.
After the apex court order, Idrisur Rahman, told reporters that the verdict effectively meant that the president’s order removing Rahman stays in force. Rahman, who filed an application to the chief justice seeking a bench to sit at the HC for judicial function as a judge could not sit at the HC following the apex court order, he added.
A three-member Supreme Judicial Council headed by the then chief justice had recommended Rahman’s removal bringing allegation of bail fixing.
The then Supreme Court Bar Association president Rokon Uddin Mahmud brought the allegation of bail fixing against Sahidur at a lawyer’s meeting in October 2003, six months within his appointment as an additional HC judge.
Later, the Supreme Judicial Council inquired the allegation and submitted a report to the then president with a recommendation to remove Sahidur. As per the recommendation of Supreme Judicial Council, the then president Iajuddin Ahmed removed Rahman from his post on April 20, 2004.
Dr Kamal Hossain appeared for advocate Idrisur while Sahidur Rahman argued for himself during hearing on the appeal.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday upheld a 2004 presidential order removing an additional High Court judge, Syed Sahidur Rahman, from his office.
A four-member Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kuman Sinha passed the order after scrapping a High Court verdict that had in 2005 in declared illegal the removal order.
The then President Iajuddin Ahmed had removed the additional judge on April 20, 2004 following a recommendation made by the Supreme Judicial Council, which accused Shahidur Rahman of gross misconduct.
Later, Rahman filed a writ petition with the he High Court challenging the presidential order removing him from office.
In 2005, after hearing on the petition the HC in a verdict declared the president’s order illegal.
After the HC order Shahidur Rahman had filed an application to the Chief Justice to allocate him a bench in the High Court in accordance with the HC order.