The government has decided to withdraw over 16,000 ghost cases filed during the Awami League tenure, said Law Adviser Asif Nazrul.
“Some 16,429 ghost cases filed during the tenure of the AL government will be withdrawn, but 1,214 cases will be withdrawn within a week,” said Adviser Asif while speaking at a press briefing held at the Secretariat on Tuesday.
“A list of 16,429 cases has been prepared. After that each case record must be reviewed to determine whether it is genuinely a politically motivated ghost case, or it was filed through any irregularity or manipulation. If a murder case was lodged against an individual by another person, we cannot withdraw it. We are thoroughly verifying each case record before proceeding,” he said.
A gazette notification, regarding 53 cases, out of 1,214, will be issued within a day or two, he added.
Referring to the cases related to Cyber Security Act, Asif said a total of 396 cases were filed for speech-related offences during the tenure and the Law Ministry has already withdrawn 332 cases through public prosecutors while decision to withdraw 61 more cases was finalised which will be disposed of within 3-4 working days.
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By the end of February, no more speech-related cases will remain in the Cyber Security Court, he said.
He, however, added that three cases cannot be withdrawn as these are pending at the High Court.
Mentioning the allegations of amendment to Power of Attorney Regulations made by the expatriates, the law adviser said under the previous rule, individuals seeking to issue a power of attorney were required to possess a Bangladeshi passport and submit it at the Bangladeshi embassy.
Many expatriates' children do not hold Bangladeshi passports, making the process complicated.
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"After discussions with all stakeholders, we have amended the regulations. Under the new rule, even if an expatriate Bangladeshi does not possess a Bangladeshi passport, they can still execute a power of attorney. If they have a No Visa Required (NVR) sticker on their passport, a birth certificate or a national identity card, they can complete the power of attorney process from abroad. I believe this will significantly ease the difficulties faced by many Bangladeshi expatriates," he said.
Besides, an ordinance has been issued to amend the International Crimes Tribunal Act to prevent bureaucratic delays in case proceedings and investigations.