Pointing at the judges of the apex court, newly elected president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Khandker Mahbub Hossain on Thursday said the cordial relations will be retained if the judges serve the country for ends of justice, or else it will be terminated. Khandker Mahbub, also adviser to the BNP chairperson, came up with the view while taking over the charge as the apex court bar leader. He alleged that 45 judges of the High Court division have been put inactive whereas at least 26 lakh cases have been pending across the country. “Whereas the number of judges should have been increased to resolve the long pending huge backlog of cases, we see 45 judges have been kept without jurisdiction,” the veteran bar leader lamented. Opposing the proposed evening court shift as prescribed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry, he said any government stunt in this regard will be of no use for resolving long pending cases until the recruitment of efficient judges and increasing the number of courtrooms. Newly elected SCBA secretary Barrister Mahbubuddin Khokon, also BNP joint secretary general, alleged that corruption in the apex court has been swelled up during the incumbent chief justice. He said the rate of money in bribes at case filing section has been increased to Tk 5000 from Tk 500, while placing the case on the cause list stood at TK 15000 from 5000. As a result, justice-seekers have been made victims of injustice, he added. The function was presided over by outgoing SCBA president AJ Mohammad Ali. – UNB
