Executive trying to wrest power from judiciary: CJ

Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha on Sunday said the executive branch of the state was trying to wrest power from the judiciary.
‘In the past, when such a situation arose, the lawyers would become vocal. But now, if the obstacles on the path of the judiciary come from the lawyers, the executive and aspirants to justice – who will save the judiciary?’ he said.
The chief justice was addressing the inaugural session of a weeklong law-book fair organised by the Supreme Court Lawyers’ Association at the association building’s auditorium in the city.
The fair was held at the premises of the building.
Talking about the lawyers boycotting different courts across the country over trivial issues, the Chief Justice said the lawyers spoke about independence of judiciary and rule of law, but the judiciary cannot run independently without the help of lawyers.
‘But,’ he said, ‘if you only support issues that involve your interest, how will the judiciary run?’
‘In the past, the Bar Council was very strict and the  unity among lawyers was stronger. But now, the Bar Council has been keeping their eyes shut and entertaining unfair demands of lawyers. The Council does not act against lawyers involved in irregularities,’ he said.
He asked the Bar Council whether they were seeking votes like political parties.
Highlighting the fact that a total of 30 lakh cases were pending before the courts across the country, with three lakh before the higher courts, he sought the cooperation of lawyers in easing the backlog in the courts.
Senior jurists Dr Kamal Hossain, M Amir-ul-Islam, Zamir Uddin Sirkar and the association general secretary, M Mahbub Uddin Khokon, also spoke at the ceremony chaired by the association vice president Abul Khayer.

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