16th amendment challenged in HC: Rule issued:Daily Sun

 The High Court on Sunday issued a rule upon the government asking to explain within two weeks why the 16th amendment to the constitution empowering parliament to impeach apex court judges will not be declared illegal. A division bench comprising Justice Mainul Islam Chowdhury and Justice M Ashraful Kamal passed the order following a writ petition challenging the legality of the 16th amendment. Re
spondents to the writ are cabinet secretary, Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) secretary, president’s office secretary, parliament secretary and law secretary. The HC directed them to reply to the rule within two weeks. Lawyers Asaduzzaman Siddique, Imran Kawser, Masum Alim, Aklas Uddin Bhuiyan, Md Sarwar Ahad Chowdhury, Mahbubul Islam, Nurul Islam Babul, Sahin Ara Laily and Ripon Baroi filed the writ. They said a court may face risk in passing order against any lawmaker due to the empowerment of parliament to remove a Supreme Court judge. Advocate Manzill Murshid appeared for the petitioner while Deputy Attorney General Motahar Hossain Saju stood for the state. The petitioners’ counsel argued that the 16th amendment is violation of the independence of judiciary. Earlier, the Supreme Judicial Council had the authority to remove a judge on ground of moral turpitude and illness. Parliament has been empowered to impeach judges through the 16th amendment though there was no controversy about the previous system, he said. Although the SC voided the fifth and seventh amendment, it did not scrap article 96 providing for the Supreme Judicial Council. As many orders have been passed by the apex court on public interest litigations, anti-corruption law amendment and Narayanganj 7 killings, the 16th amendment had been initiated, observed the petitioners’ lawyer. On September 17, parliament passed the Constitution (16th Amendment) Bill 2014. On September 22, President Abdul Hamid assented to the bill.