Decision made at full court meeting

The Supreme Court yesterday decided to promote more than 1,000 lower court judges in various posts, including over 300 ones to the posts of district judges.

The decision was made at a full court meeting of Supreme Court judges held at the SC conference room, attended by justices from both the Appellate and High Court Divisions, with Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed in the chair.

The full court also rejected a proposal to restore the judicial powers of Begum Mosammat Kamrunnahar, former judge of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-7 of Dhaka.

Her powers were withdrawn on November 13, 2021, after she observed that rape cases should not be accepted if filed 72 hours after the incident, while acquitting five accused in the Banani Raintree Hotel rape case.

The then Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain had seized her judicial powers, and the SC later sent a letter to the law ministry seeking her suspension and attachment to the ministry.

According to meeting sources, joint district judges will be promoted to additional district judges, senior assistant judges to joint district judges, and assistant judges to senior assistant judges. The law ministry will issue gazette notifications in this regard.

The full court did not take any decision on publishing the Supreme Court calendar for 2026, as the government's annual calendar has not yet been released.

Meanwhile, the government yesterday appointed 41 new deputy attorneys general and 67 assistant attorneys general to represent the state in the Appellate and High Court Divisions.