Online Desk  :   President Mohammed Shahabuddin has directed the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) to initiate an inquiry into allegations against certain Supreme Court judges. The instruction, issued under Article 96(5)(b) of the Constitution, was confirmed by a Supreme Court notification on Monday.  The SJC, comprising Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and senior Appellate Division judges Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam and Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, is set to begin its investigation next week.

In December of last year, the council submitted a preliminary inquiry report on several judges to the president for his consideration. SC spokesperson Muajjem Hussain confirmed the submission but did not disclose details of the report. The investigation follows growing concerns about judicial conduct. Notably, 11 High Court judges remain without bench assignments since October 16, 2024, after over 1,000 students demonstrated on Supreme Court premises, calling for the removal of allegedly “pro-Awami League fascist judges.”  During the protest, SC Registrar General Aziz Ahmed assured the demonstrators that 12 judges would not be assigned benches, leading to the suspension of their demonstrations. Since then, these judges have not resumed judicial duties.

The 12 HC judges currently without benches are — Justice Md Ataur Rahman Khan, Justice Naima Haider, Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif, Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar, Justice Ashish Ranjan Das, Justice Khizir Hayat, Justice SM Maniruzzaman, Justice Khandaker Diliruzzaman, Justice Md Akhtaruzzaman, Justice Shahed Nuruddin, Justice Md Aminul Islam, and Justice SM Masud Hossain Dolon — have not been given judicial duties since then. Among them, Justice Md Ataur Rahman Khan has retired.