The High Court judges, who were dropped during the tenure of BNP-Jamaat alliance government, have withdrawn their decision to go on leave for an indefinite period or step down in protest against the recent appointment of four judges to the Supreme Court.
The protesting judges of the HC, who recently went on leave for a short period, changed their decision yesterday in response to a 'special request' of the attorney general. The judges will join their offices and resume discharging their judicial functions on February 27, said Attorney General Mahbubey Alam to The Daily Star yesterday.
Mahbubey Alam said he have requested the High Court judges to withdraw their decision of going on leave for a long time for the greater interest of the judiciary. Five of the protesting judges of HC on February 23 went on leave till February 28 in protest against the appointment of four judges without meeting their demand of appointing two of them to the apex court, sources in the SC said.
The five judges are Justice Md Momtazuddin Ahmed, Justice Md Shamsul Huda, Justice Md Abdul Hye, Justice Faruque Ahmed and Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik.
They were demanding promotion of two judges --Justice Md Momtazuddin Ahmed and Justice Md Shamsul Huda -- to the Appellate Division, said the sources. The president recently promoted four senior HC judges to the Appellate Division. Newly appointed SC judges were sworn in on Wednesday amid a 'protest' of the deprived judges.