Shahidur Rahman faced allegation of misappropriation of funds while he was in the Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association.^[3] In April 2003, Shahidur Rahman was appointed an additional judge of the High Court Division.^[4] His appointment was opposed by the bar association and senior lawyers due to the allegation of embezzlement from the association.^[4]

In October 2003, Rokanuddin Mahmud, president of the bar association, accused Shahidur Rahman of taking bribes for bails.^[4] The allegation led to the formation of the first ever Supreme Judicial Council in Bangladesh.^[4] The council, led by Chief Justice Khondokar Mahmud Hasan, investigated the allegations and submitted their report on 26 January 2004.^[4]^[5]^[6]

On 20 April 2004,^[5] Shahidur Rahman was removed from his judgeship by President Iajuddin Ahmed on the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council and consent of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.^[4]^[7] He had received 50 thousand taka bribe from an accused.^[4] A High Court Division verdict had declared Shahidur Rahman's removal illegal but that was halted by a stay order of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice J. R. Mudassir Husain.^[4]^[5] The order was halted following an appeal by Idrisur Rahman, a lawyer of Supreme Court.^[8]

Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha led panel of four judges upheld the removal of Justice Shahidur Rahman on 16 September 2015.^[9]^[10]

Career

References