Former chief justice Mahmudul Amin Chowdhury on Tuesday recommended formulation of guidelines on writing judgments by the retired judges.
He came up with the suggestion while speaking at a discussion at the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) auditorium.
Ganatantrik Ainjibi Samity organised the programme, ‘Independence of Judiciary and Current State’, with its president Jaglul Haider in the chair.
Former SC justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, prominent jurist Kamal Hossain and constitution expert Shahdeen Malik also spoke on the occasion.
The issue of writing judgments after the retirement of judges came in the limelight after chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha in a message on the occasion of the first anniversary of his taking office on 19 January said, “Some judges delay in writing judgements. Some of them even continue to write verdicts long after their retirement which goes against the law and the constitution.”
Recalling the practice of his time, Mahmudul Amin said it will not be illegal to write verdicts after one’s retirement as the Appellate Division comes up with rulings first and then written judgments.
Though, he cautioned, the ruling cannot be changed in any way if the judgment needs to be written after the judge’s retirement.
If someone gives the written judgment changing some parts of the ruling after six months or one year, or one and a half years of the ruling, it should be considered a ‘criminal offence’, Mahmudul Amin said, adding that chief justice Sinha termed the writing of judgment after retirement as going against law and the constitution on the same ground.
As the debate has ensued, there should be a guideline on writing of judgments after retirement, he insisted.
In another message on Sunday, the CJ hoped that former Supreme Court justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury will immediately return to the SC registrar office the files of all the cases the verdicts of which he could not write while in service.
This was revealed in a press release signed by Supreme Court’s acting registrar general Abu Syed Dilzar Hossain on Sunday, hours after Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury briefed the media over the disputes regarding writing verdicts after retirement.
At a press briefing on the SC premises, AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury said he sent a letter to the chief justice requesting him to receive the judgments and orders written by him after going on retirement.
In the press release, the chief justice termed the press conference on the Supreme Court premises ‘unprecedented’.
He also expressed the hope that the judges will refrain from such practice in the future for the sake of maintaining the sanctity and dignity of court.
At the press conference, AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury said he went to submit his written judgments to the office concerned after going on retirement, but officers concerned did not accept those, even his presiding judge Abdul Wahhab Miah refused to accept the files. – UNB
