Dhaka: The Supreme Court on Sunday declined to accept the draft of the disciplinary rules and code of conduct for lower court judges which was earlier submitted by the Law Minister to the Chief Justice, and proposed a meeting with the government to settle the issue.

The 6-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, refused to accept the draft during a hearing on the issue, citing that it was not made properly since it was made as like as government employee disciplinary rules and code of conduct.

He said, ‘After a meeting with Law Minister, he [Minister] took a U-turn. The draft has nothing what was suggested. It’s like a government employee code of conduct.’

The Chief Justice proposed a meeting with the government to settle the issue.

‘Come and sit with me and the Supreme Court Judges to settle the matter. We’re ready to hold meeting with the Law Minister, the Attorney General and any expert about the issue any time from Sunday to Thursday (from 2:00pm to 12:00am),’ the CJ urged the government.

Earlier on Thursday, Law Minister Anisul Huq handed over the draft to the Chief Justice.

Law and Justice Division Secretary ASSM Zahirul Haque on Thursday said the Chief Justice will send back the draft to the Law Minister after scrutinising it. The draft will later be sent to the President for his consent and the gazette notification on the rules will be issued after the approval, he said.

On 23 July, the Supreme Court gave the government another week to publish the gazette notification on the rules determining discipline and conduct for lower court judges.

The judiciary was officially separated from the executive in November 2007 but the disciplinary rules for the lower court judges are yet to be formulated.

On December 2, 1999, the SC, in a landmark verdict in the Masdar Hossain case, issued a 12-point set of directives to the government, which included framing of disciplinary and appeal rules and code of conduct for trial court judges.

On May 7, 2015, the Law Ministry sent a draft of the rules to the Supreme Court which is similar to the Government Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules 1985.

Later, the SC had amended the draft in light with 7-point Masdar Hossain case verdict which cited about formation of the lower court judges code of conduct and asked the Law Ministry to issue a gazette notification, after incorporating the amendments.