President Iajuddin Ahmed will now take a decision regarding the judges in consultation with Prime Minister Khaleda Zia by tomorrow.

As an age-old convention, the chief justice makes recommendations based on the performance of additional judges to absorb them in service permanently.

The nine judges took oath for a two-year term each on July 3, 2001.

A group of policymakers wants to confirm the service of eight of them to overcome the public impression that the judiciary is increasingly becoming a subject of political intervention, according to ruling BNP sources.

But another group is against the confirmation of at least six of the judges who previously were lawyers on grounds that they were political appointees of the Awami League government. Since the other three came from the judicial cadre, they may be retained, the faction views.

The Awami League appointed 40 additional judges, nine of whom were confirmed during its tenure in power.

After assuming power, the coalition government did not confirm services of 12 of the rest additional judges. Three of them filed writs challenging the government decision not to confirm their services in spite of the chief justice's recommendations. The Appellate Division has stayed the proceedings of the writs till September following a government petition.

The coalition government confirmed the services of nine, leaving nine more, whose fate would be decided tomorrow, in wait.

The government has also given new appointments to 21 additional judges. Senior lawyers have questioned the political backgrounds of some of them and launched a movement against ignoring the chief justice's recommendations.