The government’s decision to abolish the Supreme Court Secretariat and withdraw its officials amounts to contempt of court, SC lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir said on Wednesday.
Speaking to journalists in front of the Supreme Court Annex Building, he said the secretariat had been established following directives from the Supreme Court and that the matter remains under judicial consideration.
He further announced that a contempt of court petition would be filed against the relevant parties on Thursday.
The legal dispute follows a High Court directive, issued after a writ petition by seven lawyers, which ordered the establishment of a separate, independent secretariat for the Supreme Court. The interim government issued the “Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance, 2025” on 30 November last year, and the secretariat was officially inaugurated on 11 December.
However, on 9 April, the Jatiya Sangsad passed the “Supreme Court Secretariat (Repeal) Bill”, disregarding objections from the opposition. In response, seven lawyers filed another writ on 19 April challenging the legality of the repeal law, with Manir representing the petitioners.
Despite the ongoing legal challenge, the government has moved to abolish the secretariat, returning 15 officials, including the senior secretary, to the Ministry of Law. The Law and Justice Division of the Ministry of Law issued a notification to this effect on 19 May.
The notification stated that, in consultation with the Supreme Court, members of the Bangladesh Judicial Service were being attached to the Law and Justice Division until further orders for their subsequent posting to appropriate positions.
The document included a schedule detailing the names of the officials, their former designations within the now-abolished Supreme Court Secretariat, and their new attached posts.
Notably, although the notification was issued on 19 May, it has been granted retrospective effect from 10 April. A corresponding office order confirmed that the joining letters submitted by the officials were also accepted retrospectively from 10 April.
