Warrant of precedence review hearing deferred again
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has once again deferred the hearing of a review petition seeking reconsideration of its verdict on the state’s warrant of precedence for important officials. The next hearing has been scheduled for September 4.
A six-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by senior Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam, fixed the new date on Thursday (August 28). Lawyers said the court would rehear the petition, considering the significance of the issue.
Senior lawyer Md Ruhul Quddus appeared as an intervener, while Deputy and Assistant Attorneys General were represented by senior lawyers Ahsanul Karim and Barrister Salauddin Dolon. Advocate Ishrat Hasan represented 69 lawyers, while Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman and Additional Attorney General Barrister Anik R Haque appeared for the state.
Earlier, after concluding the hearing on July 30, the Appellate Division set August 6 for delivering its order. However, the date was later deferred to August 20, then to August 21.
At the previous hearing, senior lawyer Salauddin Dolon appeared for the Cabinet Secretary, the review petitioner, while senior lawyers Probir Neogi and Nihad Kabir represented the writ petitioner.
The long-standing legal battle stems from a January 11, 2015 verdict of the Appellate Division, with the full judgment released on November 10, 2016. The court elevated the ranks of constitutional office holders in the warrant of precedence and upgraded the position of district judges by eight steps, placing them equal to secretaries.
The court also observed that the Chief Justice’s position should be upgraded to equal that of the Speaker of Parliament, and that recipients of the Independence Award, Ekushey Padak, and gallantry award “Bir Uttam” for their roles in the Liberation War should be incorporated into the warrant of precedence.
Following the release of the 62-page judgment, the Cabinet Secretary and then-chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC) filed separate review petitions in 2017. Around 90 Deputy and Assistant Attorneys General also joined the petitions. Later, the Judicial Service Association filed an application seeking an expedited hearing.
The warrant of precedence was originally formulated in 1986 under the Rules of Business, approved by the President and issued on September 11 that year. It has since been amended several times, the last revision being in December 2003.
In 2006, Bangladesh Judicial Service Association’s then General Secretary Md Ataur Rahman filed a writ petition challenging the legality of the amended warrant of precedence, arguing that constitutional posts were placed below administrative cadre officers.
On February 4, 2010, the High Court declared the 1986 warrant of precedence (as amended) illegal and void, issuing eight directives. The state appealed the ruling in 2011. After hearings, the Appellate Division delivered its judgment on January 11, 2015. The review petition against that verdict, filed in 2017, began hearing on April 27 this year.