The interim government has appointed 23 additional judges to the High Court amidst growing calls for the removal of at least 30 judges previously appointed during the 15-year tenure of the Awami League.

The AL government was ousted by a student-led movement on August 5.

The President made these appointments — the first under the interim government — on Tuesday night and they took effect after the newly appointed judges were sworn in Wednesday morning.

According to the official notification issued by law secretary Md Golam Rabbani, the appointees include six retired district and sessions judges, one serving judge, seven deputy attorneys general from the interim government, and nine senior Supreme Court lawyers.

The retired district judges appointed are Md Golam Martuza Mazumder, Syed Enayet Hossain, Md Monsur Alam, Syed Zahed Mansur, AKM Rasheduzzaman Raza, and Zabid Hossain.

Among the retire judges, Syed Enayet Hossain in 2017 delivered verdict of the seven murder case in Narayanganj in 2014 while five others who held  important judicial posts during the Bangladesh Nationalist party regime in 2001-2005.

The serving judge, Md Abdul Mannan, is currently serving at the Khulna Administrative Tribunal.

The seven deputy attorneys general are — Kazi Waliul Islam, Aynunnahar Siddiqua, Nasrin Akhter, Sathika Hossain, Syed Mohammad Tajrul Hossain, Sheikh Tahsin Ali, and Foyej Ahmed.

Among the 10 prominent lawyers appointed are — Mubina Asaf, daughter of retired civil servant and columnist M Asafuddowlah, Tamanna Rahman, Md Shafiul Alam Mahmud, Md Hamidur Rahman (junior to AF Hassan Arif), Md Toufiq Inam (junior to BNP leader Khandaker Mahbub Uddin Ahmed), Yousuf Abdullah Suman (junior to former speaker Jamiruddin Sircar), Md Sagir Hossain (junior to Pro-BNP lawyer Zainul Abedin), Shikder Mahmud Raza, and Debashish Roy Chowdhury, son of BNP leader Nitai Roy Chowdhury.