The government has filed an appeal against a High Court verdict concerning the establishment of a separate secretariat for the Supreme Court (SC).
Confirming the matter to newsmen, Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal on Thursday said the appeal is scheduled to be heard by the Appellate Division chamber judge court later.
The High Court verdict on the issue was delivered on September 2, 2025, following the final hearing of a writ petition. The full 185-page judgment was published on the Supreme Court website on April 7, 2026.
Lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir, who represented the petitioners, said the ruling reaffirmed the judiciary's authority over the administration of subordinate courts instead of the President.
In its verdict, the High Court struck down provisions of Article 116 of the Constitution that vested the President with authority over the posting, promotion, leave, and disciplinary control of magistrates serving in the subordinate judiciary.
As a result, those powers were transferred to the Supreme Court. The court also declared the Judicial Service (Discipline) Rules, 2017, unconstitutional for subordinate courts.
On August 25, 2024, seven Supreme Court lawyers filed the writ petition challenging the legality of Article 116 and the 2017 rules, while also seeking directives for the establishment of a separate judicial secretariat. The High Court issued a rule on October 27 the same year.
Under Article 116 of the Constitution, the President exercises control and disciplinary authority over persons employed in the judicial service and magistrates performing judicial functions, in consultation with the Supreme Court.
The petitioners argued that, in practice, the executive exercises those powers on behalf of the President, which they said undermines judicial independence.
They also noted that the original 1972 Constitution vested those responsibilities in the Supreme Court before they were transferred to the President through the Fourth Amendment in 1974. The Fifth Amendment later introduced the requirement of consultation with the Supreme Court.
Later, when the Appellate Division declared the Fifth Amendment unconstitutional, the provision was reinstated in Article 116 through the Fifteenth Amendment Act of 2011 and remains in force.
