SC directs lower court judges not to leave workplaces without permission

The Supreme Court administration has directed the lower court judges not to leave their workplaces without permission from the proper authorities.

SC Registrar General Dr Md Zakir Hossain today issued a circular to this effect as per direction from Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain.

In the circular, it has been directed that the district and sessions judges and the judges equivalent to the rank of district judges, chief judicial magistrates, chief metropolitan magistrates and additional district and sessions judges will not leave their workplaces without informing the SC registrar general.

If the directive is violated, it will be considered as misconduct, according to the circular.

The SC registrar general also said in the circular that the apex court had earlier issued several circulars asking the judges of the subordinate courts to stay at their workplaces on the working days and weekly holidays and not to leave the workplace without permission from the proper authorities in order to quickly dispose of the cases, reduce the backlog of pending cases and to avoid the long delay in resolving the cases.

However, it has been noted that the district and sessions judges and the judges equivalent to the rank of district judges, chief judicial magistrates, chief metropolitan magistrates and additional district and sessions judges of different districts and many judicial officers (lower court judges) leave their workstations without approval from the proper authorities.

Also, they even leave the workstations before the end of office hours on the last working day of the week and attend the workplace in delay on the next working day.

Besides, many of them leave the workstations on the working days without approval from the relevant authorities and therefore, the litigant people are being deprived of justice, continuation of the functions of judicial administration are being damaged and image of the judiciary is being tarnished to the people.

Such a situation of the judicial administration is completely unexpected, unwarranted and unwanted, the SC circular said.