Two Supreme Court lawyers on Monday served a legal notice on the government and the Supreme Judicial Appointment Council, accusing them of conducting interviews for High Court judge candidates on a biased and selective basis.
Lawyers Mahdi Zaman and Moshiur Rahman alleged in the joint legal notice that only 53 out of 300 applicants were called for the viva voce without any transparent criteria or merit-based selection.
They argued that many highly qualified and well-known candidates were unfairly excluded from the process.
The lawyers also raised concerns about a conflict of interest. One of the interviewees is reportedly the wife of a sitting member of the seven-member SJAC. The woman in question served as deputy attorney general during the ousted Awami League-led government.
The legal notice demanded that all 300 applicants be interviewed to ensure fairness and transparency.
It gave the council three days to respond and warned that a writ petition would be filed if no action was taken.
According to the notice, the initial public announcement inviting applications did not mention any shortlisting or screening process.
Therefore, selecting only 53 candidates for interviews, leaving others in the dark, is ‘illegal, arbitrary, and malafide,’ it said.
The SJAC, led by chief justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, conducted the interviews on July 18.
Other members of the SJAC include Appellate Division judge Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam, High Court judges Justice Sheikh Abdul Awal and Justice Md Jahangir Hossain, retired judge Justice Tariq ul Hakim, Dhaka University law professor Sumaiya Khair, and attorney general Md Asaduzzaman.
The application process began on May 28 with a public notice from the Supreme Court Registrar. Candidates were asked to submit their forms by June 22.
This marked the first round of appointments under the newly formed SJAC, which was established through an ordinance by the interim government on January 21. The council was formed under article 95 of the constitution, originally adopted in 1971 but only recently implemented.
The SJAC is now tasked with recommending names for Supreme Court appointments.
