The Supreme Court Secretariat has been dissolved, and 15 officials, including a senior secretary, have been sent back to the Ministry of Law. The Law and Justice Division, operating under the ministry, issued a notification on Tuesday following a presidential order.
According to the notification, the government decided to return the officials of the Supreme Court Secretariat in consultation with the Supreme Court.
A separate office order stated that these members of the Bangladesh Judicial Service have been attached to the Law and Justice Division until further orders for their subsequent posting to suitable positions.
Although issued on 19 May, the notification has been given retrospective effect from 10 April.
The formal operations of the secretariat ceased on 10 April, a day after the Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance was repealed in the Jatiya Sangsad on 9 April.
The establishment of the secretariat follows a High Court directive on 2 September last year, which, after a final hearing on a writ petition filed by seven lawyers, ordered the creation of a separate independent secretariat for the Supreme Court within three months.
The full 185-page verdict was published on the Supreme Court website on 7 April.
Following the High Court’s judgement, the interim government issued an ordinance titled the “Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance, 2025” on 30 November last year, and the secretariat was inaugurated on 11 December.
However, on 9 April, the “Supreme Court Secretariat (Repeal) Bill” was passed in Parliament despite objections from the opposition.
The legality of the Supreme Court Secretariat (Repeal) Act, 2026 was subsequently challenged by seven lawyers who filed another writ on 19 April.
The petitioners sought a ruling on why the repeal act should not be declared unconstitutional and requested a stay on the dissolution of the secretariat’s activities, which had been operational since 11 December.
During a hearing on 20 April, lawyer Mohammad Shishir Monir appeared for the petitioners, while Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal represented the state.
Following the hearing, Advocate Monir told journalists that the High Court expressed its expectation that the existing infrastructure of the secretariat should not be removed in the meantime, out of respect for the Supreme Court.
The Attorney General informed the court that the state is in the process of filing an appeal against the original High Court verdict and argued whether a hearing on the new writ was appropriate until that matter was resolved.
He noted he would inform the government of the court’s expectations. However, as of Tuesday, the state has not yet filed the appeal.
