The government has regularized services of five additional High Court judges, leaving out one of those recommended by the chief justice.
In June 2012, the then president Zillur Rahman appointed six additional judges to the HC for two years.
Incumbent President Abdul Hamid approved regularizing services of five of them on Sunday on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's advice, sources in the law ministry said. They are Justice Ashish Ranjan Das, Justice Mahmudul Hoque, Justice Md Badruzzaman, Justice Zafar Ahmed and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo.  
The law ministry yesterday issued a gazette notification in this regard.
However, the name of Justice ABM Altaf Hossain had been dropped, a law ministry high official told The Daily Star, requesting anonymity.
He could not say the reasons behind the government action.
Contacted, Law Minister Anisul Huq said, “I am looking into the matter”. He declined to give details.  
Sources in the government and the attorney general's office said some influential people in the government were unhappy with Altaf Hossain for some of his judgments and directives, which might be why his service had not been confirmed.  
An HC bench of Justice Hasan Foez Siddique and Justice ABM Altaf Hossain on July 24, 2012 delivered a judgment against an observation of the then Speaker Abdul Hamid, now the president of the republic, about a judge.  
In the full text of the judgment released on August 27 of the year, the bench said the then Speaker's observation that the HC judge (Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik) had violated the constitution by making "derogatory remarks" about the Jatiya Sangsad and the Speaker had no legal effect and no existence in the eye of law.
The government filed an appeal with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court against the HC verdict.
The Appellate Division disposed of the appeal with some observations that are yet to be published.
The government, in the meantime, has promoted Justice Hasan and Justice Manik as Appellate Division judge.
People in the government are also displeased by Justice Altaf's move to get allocation of a government residence after his appointment as an additional HC judge, according to sources.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and SC Registrar AKM Shamsul Islam said they did not know why the government had not regularized the service of Justice Altaf.
Chief Justice Md Muzammel may administer oath of the five judges, whose services have been confirmed, on Wednesday or Thursday, the SC registrar said.
The six additional judges, appointed by late president Zillur Rahman, were sworn in on June 14, 2012.