Follow norms, values of the judiciary

Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha yesterday expressed his hopes that current and retired judges, who enjoy state facilities, would follow the norms and values of the judiciary.

He made the comment when Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, a retired HC judge, appeared before the Appellate Division of the SC as a defence counsel for convicted war criminal Mir Quasem Ali.

The court was hearing an appeal by the Jamaat leader challenging his death penalty.

Earlier, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told the court that Justice Nozrul retired as a HC judge a few months ago and was still living in a government residence and using a car and gunman given by the government.

If Justice Nozrul practises (as a lawyer) in the court under the circumstances, it would be against the ethics of the judges, he said.

In reply, Justice Nozrul, who retired on December 12 last year, said he was aware of his enjoying the state privileges and claimed that he was not misusing the facilities.

After the hearing, he told reporters on the Supreme Court Bar Association premises that he was practising in the apex court as per the law and the constitution.   

A judge of the Appellate Division or the HC is entitled to get government facilities for one year after his or her retirement under the relevant law, and a retired HC judge can practise in the Appellate Division as per the constitution.  

A five-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by the chief justice, held the hearing on the appeal of Quasem Ali, a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Central Executive Council, for second day yesterday and set February 15 for  its resumption.

Quasem Ali's lawyer SM Shajahan yesterday placed arguments before the apex court.

The Jamaat leader filed the appeal challenging his death penalty awarded to him for his crimes against humanity during the country's Liberation War in 1971.

The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on November 2, 2014 sentenced Quasem to death after it found him guilty on 10 charges of abducting, confining and torturing people during the war.