Syed Refaat Ahmed

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The Honourable Chief Justice
Syed Refaat Ahmed
সৈয়দ রেফাত আহমেদ
saiy'd rephaat aahmed 2023.JPG
25th Chief Justice of Bangladesh
Assumed office
10 August 2024
ProfessionJudge

Syed Refaat Ahmed is a Bangladeshi lawyer and jurist who is the current and 25th chief justice of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. [1] Before that he was promoted to Appellate Division and President of Bangladesh appointed him as the Chief Justice. [2] Previously he worked at the High Court Division of the Supreme Court. [3]

Contents

Early life

Ahmed was born on 28 December 1958. [4] His father, Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed, was a Attorney General of Bangladesh. [5] His mother, Sufia Ahmed, was a National Professor of Bangladesh and a professor of Islamic History and Culture at the University of Dhaka. [4] [6]

Ahmed did his bachelor of law degree at the University of Dhaka. [4] He completed a bachelor of arts in jurisprudence and masters at the Wadham College of Oxford University in 1983. [7] [4] He completed a Masters and PhD at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University. [8] [4]

Career

In 1984, Ahmed became a lawyer of the District Courts. [4] He became a lawyer of the High Court Division in 1986. [4] He worked at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Hong Kong and Washington, D.C.. [4]

Ahmed became a lawyer of the High Court Division in 2002. [4]

Ahmed was appointed an additional justice of the Bangladesh High Court on 27 April 2003. [4] In 2003, AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik accused traffic police officers of contempt of court for not saluting his car. The Inspector General of Police of Bangladesh Police, Shahudul Haque, issued a rejoinder that said traffic police are under no obligations to salute anyone and they could do so if it was safe. Bangladesh High Court bench of Justice M A Matin and Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed issued a contempt of court charge against Haque which automatically removed him from the post of Inspector General according to the law. The government of Bangladesh secured a presidential pardon that protected Haque's job. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

Ahmed was made a permanent Judge on the High Court Division on 27 April 2005. [4]

In 2009, Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed heard a petition challenging the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord filed by a Bengali settler in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and Bangladesh Jammat e Islami lawyer. [14]

In October 2017, Justice Md. Salim and Ahmed ordered the government to complete the construction of the Central Effluent Treatment Plant at the Savar tannery estate within four weeks. [15] Justice Md. Salim and Ahmed issued a two-month injunction on member of parliament Mahbubur Rahman Talukder from holding the post of chairman of 11 educational institutions in Patuakhali District. [16]

In April 2018, Justice Md. Salim and Ahmed suspended the term extension of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh after Smart Jeans filed an appeal after its contract was suspended by the Accord. [17] In December 2018, Ahmed was part of a divided bench on the question of Khaleda Zia participating in the general election. [18] He had asked the Election Commission to accept the nomination of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia while his fellow judge on the bench, Justice Iqbal Kabir, disagreed and blocked the participation of Khaleda Zia. [18]

On 28 July 2019, High Court bench led by him banned the marketing of pasteurized milk by 14 companies. [19] Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha on 17 December 2004 allocated a plot in the third phase of Uttara Model Town (sector 15) to Md. Miftah Uddin Choudhury. [20] Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha cancelled the allocation which was halted by a High Court bench of Justice Md. Iqbal Kabir and Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, which ordered Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha to accept Choudhury's payments in August 2019. [20] In November 2019, Justice Md. Salim and Ahmed declared the import of MT Producer for the shipbreaking industry due to the ship being contaminated with radioactive material. [21] He was appointed as the chief justice of the people's republic of Bangladesh by the President of Bangladesh in 10th August 2024. [22] [23] On August 11, 2024, he was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Bangladesh. [24] [25]

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References

  1. Report, Star Digital (10 August 2024). "Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed appointed chief justice". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  2. "Brief biography of Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed". Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . 11 August 2024. Archived from the original on 11 August 2024.
  3. "'Cops, judges must together ensure justice'". The Daily Star. 23 September 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Home : Supreme Court of Bangladesh". www.supremecourt.gov.bd. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  5. "Barrister Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Memorial Lecture 2019". The Daily Star. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  6. "Language Movement hero National Professor Sufia Ahmed dies". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  7. "Mr Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed". wadham.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  8. "Syed Refaat Ahmed". uplbooks.com. The University Press Limited. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  9. "IGP and DMP commissioner get one-year fresh terms". The Daily Star. 1 April 2004. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  10. "IGP fined Tk 2,000, faces jail in default". The Daily Star. UNB. 28 January 2004. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  11. "IGP guilty of contempt". The Daily Star. 8 December 2004. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  12. "Govt, IGP both disregarded HC, rule of law". The Daily Star. 9 December 2004. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  13. Ashraf, Shamim (9 December 2004). "Govt yet to act on verdict against IGP". The Daily Star. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  14. Staff Correspondent (19 October 2009). "HC appoints 2 amici curiae on CHT issue". The Daily Star. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  15. "Finish all construction works at Savar tannery zone in 4 weeks: HC". The Daily Star. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  16. "HC restrains MP Mahbubur from chairmanship of 11 institutions' governing bodies". The Daily Star. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  17. Mirdha, Refayet Ullah (10 April 2018). "Accord's extension now more difficult". The Daily Star. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  18. 1 2 "Top judge sends Khaleda file back to High Court panel for clarification". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  19. "Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed-led bench's jurisdiction changed". New Age. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  20. 1 2 "HC stays Justice Miftah's plot cancellation by Rajuk". New Age. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  21. Staff Correspondent (15 November 2019). "Import of toxic ship MT Producer illegal: HC". The Daily Star. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  22. "Syed Refaat Ahmed appointed as Chief Justice". The Business Standard . 10 August 2024.
  23. Correspondent, Staff (10 August 2024). "Syed Refaat Ahmed made chief justice". Prothom Alo .
  24. "Bangladesh crisis: Refaat Ahmed sworn in as Bangladesh's chief justice after Obaidul Hassan forced to resign". The Hindu. 11 August 2024.
  25. "Chief justice, two advisers take oath". Prothom Alo . 11 August 2024. Archived from the original on 11 August 2024.