Dhaka: Chief Justice SK Sinha on Wednesday said the country's citizens have over 90 percent confidence in the judiciary.

"Since I took charge, I can say with pride that people have over 90% confidence in the judiciary. I have realized the matter after visiting Banshkhali (Chittagong) recently," he said.

"I have no qualms in saying this as the branch works 100 times better than any other institution of the country," he added.

The chief justice came up with the remarks while responding to a comment of Attorney General Mahbubey Alam during the hearing on an appeal filed against a High Court (HC) order that declared illegal the 16th Amendment to the constitution establishing parliament's authority to remove Supreme Court judges.

The seven-member Appellate Division bench, headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha, completed the six-day hearing today (Wednesday).

Responding to another comment of Attorney General Mahbubey Alam that the judges cannot work over the Constitution drafted in 1972, SK Sinha said "when any question will arise over the freedom of judiciary and the basic structure of the construction, we will observe the A to Z of the constitution."

But the chief justice and attorney general agreed over the necessity of appointing more judges.

On May 21, the state started placing arguments before the Supreme Court in the appeal filed against the High Court (HC) order over the 16th Amendment.

The apex court will hear the petition again on Thursday.

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

They are TH Khan, Dr Kamal Hossain, Barrister Rafiqul Haque, Barrister M Amirul Islam, Barrister AF Hasan Arif, Barrister Shafique Ahmed, AJ Mohammad Ali, Barrister Rokonuddin, Fida M Kamal. Barrister Ajmalul Hossain, Abdul Wadud Bhuiyan and Barrister MI Farooqui.

On September 17, 2014, the Jatiya Sangsad passed the 'Constitution (16th Amendment) Bill, 2014' without any opposition, 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 16th 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.