| Secretary, Ministry of Finance v. Masdar Hossain | |
| Court: | Supreme Court of Bangladesh |
| Judges: | Chief Justice Mustafa Kamal Justice Latifur Rahman Justice Bimalendu Bikash Roy Choudhury Justice Mahmudul Amin Choudhury |
Secretary, Ministry of Finance v Masdar Hossain (1999) 52 DLR (AD) 82 is a case of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. The case concerned the separation of powers in Bangladesh. It is popularly known as the Masdar Hossain case.[1]
In 1995, a writ petition was filed by Masdar Hossain, a district judge,[2] on behalf of 441 other civil court judges. The petition put forward the following points:-
The Dhaka High Court ruled in favor of the petition with a 12-point directive in 1997. The government appealed to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
In 1999, the Supreme Court reversed parts of the High Court ruling, but upheld the 12 point directive. It issued a further 12 point directive. The Supreme Court called for the formation of an independent judicial commission to select members of the judiciary, deal with matters of judicial salaries and manage discipline. The Supreme Court ruled that the constitution provided a framework for judicial independence.[3]
The verdict led to the formation of the Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission. It was implemented by Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed during the caretaker administration in 2007.