Noted public policy analyst Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya on Sunday said current Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed was denied due promotion at least five times in the past though he was the most talented justice in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court at that time, which was a big injustice to the judiciary system.
“Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed was the most talented justice in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court in the past, but his juniors were promoted, not giving him promotion at least five times. I have never seen such a big injustice in the judicial system in my life,” he said.
Dr Bhattacharya, also Convenor of the Citizen’s Platform and distinguished fellow at CPD, made the remarks at the inaugural session of the Citizen's Conference 2024 titled ‘People-centric Reform for Good Governance: Aspirations of Disadvantaged Communities’ in the capital.
Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed was present as the chief guest at the opening session of the two-day conference.
Dr Bhattacharya, said, “We developed a kleptocracy in the state system in the last decade. The biggest harm we suffered at that time was that there was no recognition of talent and potential without loyalty.”
He said only flatterers and submissive persons used to keep all the functions of the state and government, different posts of society and all the professional bodies occupied. “There is no recognition of talents and knowledge. Nothing can be a greater crime than holding a nation back,” he added.
“The Bangladesh Supreme Court has also become a place of denial of the recognition of such talent and knowledge,” said the famous macroeconomist.
The two-day conference has been organised by Citizen's Platform for SDGs Bangladesh, with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Bangladesh and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation at BICC in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.
Lamiya Morshed, Principal Coordinator for SDG Affairs at the Chief Adviser’s Office, Corinne Henchoz Pignani, Chargé d'Affaires at the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh, and Stefan Liller, Resident Representative of UNDP Bangladesh also spoke on the occasion.
