Secretary, Ministry of Finance v Masdar Hossain

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:-

• Including the judicial service under the executive branch's orders was ultra vires.
• Chapter II of Part VI of the constitution ensured lower courts were separate from the executive.
• Judges of lower courts could not be subject to an Administrative Tribunal of the executive.

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.

• Judicial precedent