Mohammad Habibur Rahman Siddiquee, registrar general of the Supreme Court, has been appointed as the first secretary of the Supreme Court Secretariat.

According to a notification from the Supreme Court administration on Monday, Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed has assigned him the additional responsibility until further instructions are issued. 

It also states that, under sub-sections 2 and 4 of Section 4 of the Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance, 2025, the overall authority over the secretariat will remain vested in the chief justice, and a secretary will be appointed as the head to oversee the administrative functions of the secretariat.

On Sunday, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs issued the ordinance under the president’s instruction to ensure the full independence of the judiciary.

Through this ordinance, the judiciary has been completely separated from the executive branch.

On 20 November, the Advisory Council gave the green light to establish a separate secretariat for the judiciary under the Supreme Court after approving the draft of the Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance, 2025.

Earlier, under the initiative of the chief justice, a proposal for the formation of a separate judicial secretariat from the Supreme Court was submitted to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs on 27 October last year to ensure the institutional autonomy of the judiciary.

The proposal included a comprehensive plan for a draft ordinance aimed at establishing a separate secretariat to enable the High Court Division to properly exercise oversight and control over lower courts and tribunals in accordance with the objectives of Article 109 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

It also contained the proposed secretariat’s organogram and detailed suggestions regarding possible reforms to the Rules of Business and Allocation of Business.