Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has commented that the Supreme Court verdict on the warrant of precedence is ‘beyond ethics’.

Replying to a question in Parliament on Wednesday, she said: “(Judges’) elevation of their own status is not fair. It’s beyond ethics.”

The Appellate Division recently disposed of a writ petition on the warrant of precedence.

Several lawyers told reporters that the verdict had made equal the status of the Speaker of Parliament and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and elevated the district judges above the secretaries to the government.

The Appellate Division judges, however, instructed lawyers not to talk about the verdict until its full version was published.

Answering Jatiya Party MP Selim Uddin, the prime minister said: “There are certain rules and regulations in every sphere. Our Constitution says everyone will be at the service of the Republic. Legislature, judiciary and administration – these are the three pillars. Everything will happen in coordination among them.

“But if anyone makes any sudden announcement on one’s own without obeying the rules, it creates disorder,” she said.

“The constitution defines in no unclear terms about the positions. Determining oneself’s status and giving verdict for oneself are not fair. It becomes a partisan role.”

Hasina said court verdicts could not be pronounced ‘this way’. “If things go like this, everyone will take a chance. There will be no discipline.”


bdnews24.com/QH