Resignation of a superseded judge: a lesson for all
Courtesy New Age 13/5
THE appointment of the chief justice, in recent times, has hardly been above and beyond controversy, with supersession of the senior-most judge of the Appellate Division having virtually become the rule, rather than an exception. As such, the appointment of Justice Md Muzammel Hossain as chief justice, with effect from May 18, superseding the senior-most judge of the Appellate Division, Justice Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman, albeit controversial and even contemptible, is not quite out of the ordinary. After all, the Awami League-Jatiya Party government has only followed, to the letter and in spirit, the footsteps of its predecessors—elected or unelected, civilian or military—although it did come to power with the promise for positive change in politics and governance.
What is, however, out of the ordinary in the decidedly unpleasant episode is the resignation of the superseded judge; he is the first judge of the Appellate Division to have done so. While, according to a report front-paged in New Age on Friday, Justice Rahman cited no reason for his decision to step down in his resignation letter, addressed to the president and submitted to the registrar of the Supreme Court on Thursday, it is obvious that he has done so in protest at being superseded, not once but twice (he had also been ignored when the outgoing chief justice was appointed on September 26, 2010). As senior lawyers of the Supreme Court pointed out, resignation may have been the only option left for him as `no dignified person can continue in office in such a situation.'
As if to prove the point, the attorney general came up with a reaction loaded with partisan intent and content. According to media reports, in his instant reaction, the highest officer of law of the state claimed that Justice Rahman had created a political issue for lawyers loyal to the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party. His statement points at the partisan prism, through which the incumbents tend to look at every issue and institution. Such `either you are with us or against us' mindset is, needless to say, not exclusive to the AL-JP government; in fact, successive governments have displayed similarly crude partisanship in their action and attitude in respect of the affairs of the state. The dominant political class has blatantly attempted to politicise every institution along partisan lines with a view to securing or perpetuating their control over state power. Their obvious eagerness to use every individual and institution as `a political pawn' in their crude struggle for power has, in the end, given rise to a situation whereby anyone with a sense of integrity and dignity finds it impossible to continue in office.
The resignation of Justice Rahman from the Appellate Division certainly means that the highest judiciary has `lost a bold, dignified judge…having unquestionable integrity'. Most importantly, however, it shows that there are still people who value dignity and integrity more than a high position. This is precisely why Justice Rahman's decision should be appreciated and emulated by everyone.
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