A Supreme Court lawyer has urged President Mohammed Shahabuddin to take steps to appoint the required number of judges to the Appellate Division, citing a growing backlog of cases and delays in the delivery of justice.
Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir submitted a letter to the president on Wednesday through a registered post, seeking immediate measures to increase the number of judges in the country’s highest court.
Copies of the letter were also sent to the Supreme Court Registrar General and the law secretary.
In the letter, Shishir Manir said the widening gap between expectations and the actual delivery of justice has increased public frustration, with prolonged case proceedings contributing to a growing backlog.
He noted that the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, comprising the Appellate Division and the High Court Division, began its journey on 16 December, 1972.
Under Article 95 of the Constitution, judges of the Appellate Division are appointed, while Article 94 empowers the president to appoint judges as necessary.
The lawyer said the Appellate Division started functioning on 18 December, 1972, with four judges and 4,056 pending cases.
At that time, the country’s population was around 6.43 crore.
Currently, Bangladesh has a population of about 17.81 crore, while the Appellate Division has around 38,713 pending cases against only four judges, he said.
Citing the Supreme Court’s 2024 annual report, the application highlighted the rise in case backlogs over the years.
In 2009, the Appellate Division had 11 judges handling 5,260 pending cases. The number of pending cases increased to 12,441 in 2011; 14,338 in 2013; 16,565 in 2017; and 19,928 in 2022.
In 2024, pending cases reached 31,120, despite the Appellate Division having eight judges at the time, according to the application.
Shishir Manir said the expansion of specialised areas of law has created the need for specialised benches, but the shortage of judges has made such arrangements difficult.
The application also referred to India’s recent decision to increase the sanctioned number of judges in its Supreme Court from 34 to 38.
Seeking urgent action, the lawyer requested the president to appoint an adequate number of judges to the Appellate Division to reduce the backlog and ensure timely justice for litigants.
