Law minister Md Asaduzzaman on Saturday alleged that a group of lower court judges attempted to create a confrontation between the government and the judiciary amid debates over the abolished Supreme Court Secretariat’ bill, after they were served show-cause notices for social media activities related to the issue.

The minister made the remarks while addressing judges posted in the Dhaka Division at a programme held at the Supreme Court auditorium, where chief justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury also spoke.

However, he declined to comment on the issue of the Supreme Court Secretariat, saying that the matter was currently pending with the Supreme Court.

He said that as a lawyer he had consistently spoken in favour of judicial independence and had often taken a vocal position on related issues. Referring to criticism over his stance, he said people were free to view him either as a hero or a villain.

According to the law minister, several judges who had been asked to explain their social media posts and their approached to senior lawyers and members of parliament seeking support, claiming that they had been targeted for expressing views in favour of judicial independence and freedom of expression.

Asaduzzaman said that the matter was not related to judicial independence but rather to compliance with existing judicial conduct guidelines issued by the Supreme Court governing judges’ use of social media.

He noted that the judges concerned had allegedly violated directives and circulars issued by the Supreme Court and the chief justice regarding the responsible use of social media by judicial officers.

‘Some attempted to portray the issue as a struggle for judicial independence and sought to create a misunderstanding between the executive and the judiciary,’ the minister said.

He added that he raised the matter in parliament and played a role in resolving the controversy through institutional channels.

‘We want to move forward together, overcoming any misunderstandings through dialogue and institutional cooperation,’ he said.

The minister revealed that bureaucrats had proposed reducing the judicial allowance from 30 per cent to 20 per cent under the proposed Judicial Pay Scale. They also suggested retaining the existing 20 per cent allowance under the 2016 Judicial Pay Scale.

However, he said, the law ministry decided to maintain the 30 per cent judicial allowance in the proposed pay structure.

In addition, the ministry proposed increasing robe allowance from Tk 5,000 to Tk 10,000, introducing a Tk 10,000 monthly house-help allowance, and providing other benefits comparable to those enjoyed by civil servants.

The minister also informed judges that the government is considering a Tk 3,000-crore project to construct 10-storey judicial buildings in every district to improve accommodation and office facilities for lower court judges.