President signs 16th Amendment bill

President Md Abdul Hamid has given his consent to the 16th Amendment bill, empowering the Parliament to sack Supreme Court judges. He endorses the bill, 5 days after it was passed in the House, Parliament Secretariat officials said on Monday. The BNP, enforcing a dawn-to-dusk strike against the Constitutional change on Monday, urged the president not to sign the bill and send it back to Parliament for further review. Parliament Secretariat officials said a gazette was in the process of being released after the president’s approval. Once published, it will conclude the process of turning the Constitution (16th Amendment) Bill-2014 into an Act. The MPs can now remove judges if allegations of ‘incapability or misconduct’ against them are proven, a power lawmakers enjoyed for just four years after Bangladesh emerged as an independent state, according to bdnews24.com.