JS empowered to impeach SC judges

The government has accepted a proposal to amend the Charter that would allow the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) to impeach Supreme Court (SC) judges. A Cabinet meeting on Monday, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, approved the ‘Constitution (16th Amendment) Act, 2014’. Cabinet Secretary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters later that the draft of the Act got its final approval from the Cabinet. In the 1972 Constitution, Article 96 allowed the JS to impeach Supreme Court judges for proven offences or incapability by the vote of a two-thirds majority. However, a military ruler cancelled it and bestowed the power to a Supreme Judicial Council through the Fifth Amendment. Later, the High court called the Fifth Amendment illegal, yet the earlier article was not restored. The issue of reviving parliament’s authority came into focus after the Awami League took office in the last term (2008-2013). In 2012, some MPs called for the removal of a HC judge after a series of events centering the remark of the then Speaker Md Abdul Hamid, who is now President. Prime Minister Hasina has already stated that she is for it. The BNP, however, has strongly criticised the move, according to bdnews24.com.