Chief Justice SK Sinha on Saturday called for dropping Article 116 from the Constitution immediately.“The Articles 116 and 116 (A) of our Constitution are conflicting to the principles of the Constitution. So, I call for removing the Article 116,” he said.The Chief Justice came up with the remark while speaking as the chief guest at a function on Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) premises.
It has become difficult to establish the rule of law in the country due to the existence of the Article in the constitution, Sinha said.About the control and discipline of subordinate courts, the Article 116 of the present constitution stipulates: ‘The control (including the power of posting, promotion and grant of leave) and discipline of persons employed in the judicial service and magistrates exercising judicial functions shall vest in the President and shall be exercised by him in consultation with the Supreme Court’.However, as per the constitution of 1972, the control (including the power of posting, promotion and grant of leave) and discipline of persons employed in the judicial service was completely exercised by the Supreme Court.So, the Supreme Court alone cannot promote and transfer the judges of all courts and tribunals subordinate to it, SK Sinha said, adding that judges cannot be appointed against vacant posts of many district courts due to the dual system.Presided over by Supreme Court Bar Association’s President Yusuf Hossain Humayun, the function was addressed, among others, by Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury and Attorney General Mahbubey Alam.
source:UNB
