Dhaka:The High Court has issued a rule requiring the government to justify the legality of appointing three members of the Bangladesh Judicial Service as private secretaries to two ministers and a state minister. This move came after a writ petition was filed challenging the legality of assigning judicial officers to roles within the executive branch.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the rule was issued by an HC bench led by Justice Md Toufiq Inam, following a hearing of the petition. The court is questioning why judges are being appointed to positions outside their judicial duties and why directives should not be issued to prevent such appointments in the future.
The petition, filed by Supreme Court lawyer Rashedul Haque Khokon, specifically challenges the appointments of GM Farhan Ishtiaque, Kamrul Hasan, and Md Abu Bakar Siddique to various private secretary roles. It cites Rule 4(1) of the Bangladesh Judicial Service Formation Rules, 2025, contending that these appointments do not align with the schedule of cadre posts designated for the judicial service.
Additionally, the court has requested responses from public administration, law, home, and primary and mass education secretaries, among others, with the rule returnable in four weeks. The petition argues that these appointments violate the constitutional framework separating the judiciary from the executive, as well as principles established in the Masdar Hossain case.
Advocate Chanchal Kumar Biswas represented the petitioner during the hearing. The writ petition was initially set for hearing on September 28 but was removed from the list by a vacation bench.