Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed has sought an explanation from three High Court judges after they reportedly granted bail in around 800 cases within just four to five hours during the Supreme Court’s vacation period.
Supreme Court Special Officer Moyazzem Hossain confirmed the matter to the media on Tuesday (October 28).
The three judges asked to explain the matter are Justice Abu Taher Md. Saifur Rahman, Justice Mostafa Zaman Islam, and Justice S. M. Zakir Hossain.
According to Supreme Court sources, the Advisory Council of the Interim Government expressed concern on October 23 over the unusually high number of bail orders issued by the vacation bench within such a short period.
Following that, on October 24, the Chief Justice directed the Supreme Court’s Special Officer Moyazzem Hossain to send an official notice via WhatsApp to the three judges asking for an explanation.
The notice also instructed the judges to submit a list of defense lawyers who represented the accused in those bail hearings.
After the notice was issued, the composition of the judges’ benches was changed. The three judges, who had previously sat on division benches, were reassigned to serve on single benches for judicial duties.
Supreme Court sources further stated that the three-day deadline for submitting their explanations ended on Monday. However, one of the judges has requested an additional 12 days to submit his written response to the Registrar General’s Office.
Legal experts have termed the incident unprecedented, noting that it is extremely rare in judicial history for such a large number of bail orders to be granted in such a short span of time.