The Appellate Division on Tuesday stayed a High Court verdict that had directed the establishment of a separate and independent Supreme Court Secretariat within three months.
A four-member Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury passed the order after hearing appeals filed by the state and other parties.
The High Court, on September 2 last year, declared Article 116 of the Constitution inconsistent with the Constitution and ordered the formation of an independent Supreme Court Secretariat.
Following the publication of the full verdict on April 7, the state filed an appeal on May 21 seeking to overturn the judgment and stay its implementation. Separate petitions were also filed by Badiul Alam Majumdar and senior lawyer Ahsanul Karim.
After a joint hearing on Tuesday, the Appellate Division stayed the High Court verdict and fixed June 16 for hearing the appeals. The parties were asked to submit appeal summaries before that date.
The interim government had established the Supreme Court Secretariat through an ordinance issued on November 30, 2025, and formally launched it on December 11.
However, after the BNP formed the government, Parliament passed the Supreme Court Secretariat (Repeal) Bill on April 9, 2026, abolishing the secretariat. The repeal law came into effect the following day.
Under the law, the secretariat's budget, projects and programmes were transferred to the Law and Justice Division, while posts created under the secretariat were abolished.
On May 19, the Law Ministry attached 15 judges from the abolished secretariat to the Law and Justice Division pending their appointment to suitable positions.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
