Dhaka: The Appellate Division on Tuesday rejected a time petition of the government seeking the deferment of hearing on an appeal filed against a High Court (HC) order that declared illegal the 16^th amendment to the Constitution establishing Parliament’s authority to remove Supreme Court judges.

A five‐member Supreme Court (SC) bench, headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha, rejected the two weeks’ time petition filed by Attorney General Mahbubey Alam.

The second day’s hearing was underway till filing of the report at about 11:10am.

Meanwhile, a heated debated took place between Chief Justice SK Sinha and Attorney General Mahbubey Alam after the SC started the hearing in the morning.

Earlier, on Monday, the Appellate Division started the hearing on the appeal plea.

On February 8 last, the SC appointed 12 senior jurists as amici curiae (friends of court) seeking their opinions over the legality of the 16^th amendment.

On September 17, 2014, the Jatiya Sangsad passed the ‘Constitution (16^th Amendment) Bill, 2014’ by 327‐0 votes as the Speaker put it in the division vote, empowering Parliament to impeach judges of the Supreme Court for their ‘incapacity’ or ‘misconduct’.

Nine Supreme Court lawyers filed a writ petition with the High Court on November 5, 2014, questioning the validity of the amendment.

On May 5 last year, the HC declared the 16^th Amendment to the Constitution illegal. The government on January 4 last filed an appeal challenging the HC decision.

The Constitution, drafted in 1972, had given the MPs the power to impeach judges and decide their term in office. But after the Fourth Amendment in 1975, the power was vested with the President.