Lower courts get 124 new asst judges

President Abdul Hamid has recently appointed 124 assistant judges as per the recommendations from a, increasing the total number of lower court judges to 1,660.The commission made the recommendations after selecting them through due examinations and tests, Zahirul Kabir, assistant secretary to the law ministry, told The Daily Star.He mentioned that the recruitment of 127 more judges will be made soon and the commission has started administering the necessary exams for the posts.The law ministry would seek approval from the Supreme Court for posting the newly appointed judges, Zahirul said, adding that their appointments would help reduce the backlog of cases and ensure justice expeditiously.The Judicial Service Commission started the process of recruiting the 124 judges in August last year, and they were appointed last month.The commission needs to make new appointments to cope with the shortage of judges, since more than 24 lakh cases are pending with lower courts across the country, said sources in the Supreme Court.On December 4, 2010, the then chief justice ABM Khairul Haque told a function in the presence of Law Minister Shafique Ahmed that the number of judges should be doubled to reduce the backlog of cases and the sufferings of litigants.The present government has so far recruited 308 judges to lower courts through the commission.Earlier in May 2008, the past caretaker government appointed 394 assistant judges through the commission, following the separation of the judiciary from the executive in November 2007.