Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs
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One of the most brutal attacks on the Bangladesh government in recent times came from an unlikely critic: a former Chief Justice. Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha stacked a litany of allegations against the government in his book, A Broken Dream: Rule of Law, Human Rights and Democracy . The most damning allegation was that he was forced to “leave the country, resign and exiled” by the government. “It was unprecedented in the history of the judiciary,” Justice Sinha wrote in the book, now seen as the first outspoken criticism of the government by any judge. He narrated a series of “unfortunate events”, which led to the tension between the executive and the judiciary, culminating in his inglorious departure from Bangladesh. The tension began in September 2014, when Bangladesh amended the Constitution to empower the members of Parliament to impeach judges. In doing so, Parliament deleted the long-held provision for removing judges from office through a powerful panel of peers, the Supreme Judicial Council. In his book, Justice Sinha defended the Supreme Judicial Council as a way to protect the judiciary from “being subjected to political vagaries”. The High Court declared the amendment to the Constitution illegal and unconstitutional in a decision in May 2016, which was later upheld by Justice Sinha and his colleagues in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. Soon after the High Court verdict, members of Parliament “blasted judges” and “began displaying sheer disrespect to the judiciary”. “However, the state party opted for an appeal which was heard by a seven-member full appellate bench. It was incumbent on me to head the bench,” Justice Sinha wrote. As the tension snowballed into an open battle with the government, Justice Sinha resigned 81 days before the end of his term. He was the first Chief Justice to resign in Bangladesh. After his exit from Bangladesh last year, the Supreme Court issued a rare statement bringing 11 specific charges, including corruption, money laundering and moral lapses, against him. In the book, he responded to the charges and denied any wrongdoing.
