Originally posted in The Business Standard on 8 December 2024
Promotion of Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed was withheld five times while his juniors were getting upgraded, Debapriya Bhattacharya, the head of the White Paper Committee, said today (8 December).
“The Supreme Court became a place of denial of merit and knowledge. You will be surprised to know that at least five times his [chief justice] promotion was withheld and juniors were promoted. I have never seen such great injustice in the judicial system in my life,” he said while inaugurating the Citizen’s Conference 2024 in the capital.
During the event titled ‘People-centric Reform for Good Governance: Aspirations of Disadvantaged Communities’, the eminent economist remarked that the biggest loss the country has suffered in the past years is that at that time there was no recognition of merit and talent without loyalty.
“Only fawning and pledging loyalty allowed people to occupy various positions in the state, government and society. There was no recognition of merit and their knowledge. There can be no greater crime than this to hold a nation back,” he said.
Chief Justice pledges pro-people judiciary amid Institutional reforms
Recommending that the interim government’s dialogue must continue to consolidate and strengthen the country’s democracy, he said, “The door for dialogue must be kept open for all.”
Debapriya, also a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said reforms for good governance must continue and the underprivileged communities must be given priority.
Also present at the inauguration, Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed said the judiciary will stand beside people.
He also said strong steps have already been taken for institutional reforms at this crucial juncture.
“Everyone will find a people-oriented and people-centric judiciary by your side in welfare and work,” he added.
The two-day conference has been organised by Citizen’s Platform for SDGs Bangladesh, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Bangladesh and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation at BICC at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
The opening session was chaired by Debapriya, also the convener of the Citizen’s Platform, with speakers including Lamiya Morshed, principal coordinator for SDG Affairs at the Chief Adviser’s Office, Corinne Henchoz Pignani, chargé d’affaires at the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh, and Stefan Liller, resident representative of UNDP Bangladesh.