Dhaka, Aug 28 (V7N) – The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has fixed November 4 for hearing the appeal regarding the rank order of important state officials. The new date was set on Thursday (August 28).

Earlier, on August 21, the verdict in the review of the state rank order case was postponed due to the lengthy hearing of the grenade attack case. On that occasion, a bench headed by Senior Justice Md. Ashfaqul Islam scheduled August 28 for further proceedings.

The review hearing began on April 27 against the Appellate Division’s previous verdict concerning the Warrant of Precedence. On January 9, the Judicial Service Association, representing judges, sought an urgent review, with Barrister Nihad Kabir filing the petition before a five-member bench led by the Chief Justice. The Deputy Attorneys General also applied to be included in the proceedings.

The Appellate Division had earlier delivered a landmark verdict on January 11, 2015, amending the Warrant of Precedence. That ruling elevated the rank of district judges by eight steps, making them equivalent to secretaries, and placed constitutional office holders at the top. The rank of the Chief Justice was made equal to that of the Speaker of the National Assembly.

However, the verdict sparked debate. Following its full publication, the Secretary to the Cabinet Division and the then Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC) filed separate review petitions in 2017. Later, the Deputy Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General were also included in the review petition.

END/SMA/AJ