Law Minister
Sending Khaleda abroad: Pro-BNP lawyers submit memo to Law Minister
A delegation of pro-BNP lawyers on Tuesday submitted a memorandum to Law Minister Anisul Huq seeking the government’s permission to send ailing Khaleda Zia abroad for treatment.
They argued that there is no legal obstruction for the government in allowing Khaleda to go abroad.
The delegation, led by Advocate Fazlur Rahman, member secretary of Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum (BJAF), met the Law Minister at his secretariat office around 1:45pm and submitted the memorandum to him.
Read: Khaleda’s treatment abroad: BNP to submit memo to DC offices Wednesday
In the memorandum, the lawyers said the BNP chairperson and three-time (former) Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has been receiving treatment in Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of Evercare Hospital in a critical condition.
They said the specialist doctors who are treating her have already given an opinion to send her abroad for advanced treatment. “We the lawyers are concerned over the deterioration of health condition of the country’s three-time former Prime Minister…we think it’s imperative to allow her to go abroad for advanced treatment in a bid to save her life.”
They mentioned that the government released Khaleda as per section 401 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) with two conditions and the tenure of her release was extended thrice.
“She didn’t violate any condition so far. The government can anytime make an arrangement for Khaleda Zia’s treatment abroad by issuing a fresh gazette notification without imposing any condition under section 401 (1)or issuing a new order under subsection 6 of 401. In this case, there’s no legal barrier. Rather, such a decision of the government will be lawful,” the lawyers said.
Under the circumstances, they hoped that the government would demonstrate its generosity by taking necessary steps for sending Khaleda abroad for better treatment.
Khaleda, a 76-year-old former prime minister, was readmitted to Evercare Hospital on 13 November, six days after she had returned home from the hospital.
Read: Let Khaleda go abroad or face oust-govt movement: Fakhrul
The BNP chief's physicians said she has been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, critical cardiac, kidney ophthalmological and dental complications. The hemoglobin level in her blood has also dropped.
On behalf of the family, Khaleda's younger brother, Shamim Iskander, submitted an application to the Home Ministry on 11 November urging the government to allow her to go abroad for better treatment.
Law Minister Anisul Huq, however, recently said the BNP chairperson first has to make a fresh application by going back to jail to go abroad for treatment.
BNP can bring foreign physicians for Khaleda: Law Minister
Law Minister Anisul Huq on Saturday said BNP can bring physicians from abroad for Khaleda Zia’s treatment if they want and there will be no obstruction from the government side.
“But BNP should keep in mind that the government won’t do anything going beyond the law as Khaleda has been convicted by a Bangladesh court,” he insisted.
The minister said this joining virtually an extended meeting of Awami league held at Akhaura municipality auditorium over the upcoming Union Parishad elections.
Also read: BNP starts hunger strike seeking Khaleda’s treatment abroad
Anisul Huq said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina out of humanity has done as much as she could do for the BNP chairperson to facilitate a convict following the law.
Khaleda has to go back to jail for permission to go abroad: Law Minister
Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq on Tuesday said the government will consider BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s appeal to go abroad for medical treatment if she makes a fresh petition after returning to jail.
“No fresh order can be given over a solved petition anymore. If she applies again after going to jail, then we will consider it. But there is no scope to consider any fresh step under the section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in these circumstances,” he told Parliament.
The Law Minister said this replying to the remarks of BNP MP Rumeen Farhana during the discussion over a proposal to send the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Remuneration and Privileges) Bill, 2021 to the Scrutiny Committee.
Read: Khaleda critically ill, says Fakhrul
During the discussion, Rumeen demanded the government allow Khaleda Zia to go abroad for medical treatment considering her physical condition. The BNP MP said the government has the authority to give Khaleda Zia the scope under section 401 of CrPC.
Anisul Huq suggested Rumeen Farhana to see the decisions given under the same section of CrPC in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
Law minister defends CJ's action against Raintree hotel rape case judge
Law Minister Anisul Haque on Sunday said that Chief Justice's action against judge Mst Kamrunnahar was necessary as her observation over rape case would have misguided police.
The minister said this while talking with journalists at his office at the secretariat.
“Action against the judge will proceed following the laws and regulations and she will be asked to explain her comments,” he said.
Anisul said case filing against criminal offense is not barred by any time limitations. The minister pointed out that First Information Report (FIR) on assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was lodged 21 years after the incident.
Read: No one is above law, Sinha’s conviction proves that: Law Minister
“The judge in her observation has violated both constitutional human rights and judicial law by asking police not to accept any rape case 72 hours past the incident,” said Anisul.
He said that judges have full liberty to pass verdict according to their merit and law but in this case judge Kamrunnahar’s observation was offensive.
“This observation has some implications and consequences unlike many other wrong, illegal verdicts which later get settled at the appellate division. So the chief justice had to take necessary legal measures. “, he said
The minister denied passing any comment on the case verdict but he said the reporters shouldn’t write that judicial power has been snatched from the judge as it sounds illegal.
“The chief justice has the legal power to remove the judge from her position temporarily if found guilty”.
Read: Journalists sued under DSA need not to be arrested instantly: Law Minister
Regarding spreading the wrong message from the observation Anisul said, “There is no chance of getting the wrong message after the government, executive division clearing its stand on the issue and the judicial division taking an immediate action.”
On Thursday, Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-7 Judge Mst Kamrunnahar acquitted all five accused from the charges of raping two girls in a hotel in the capital’s Banani area in 2017.
During the hearing the judge asked law enforcing forces to not take any rape case 72 hours after an incident as in this case the plaintiffs couldn’t prove their complaints.
No one is above law, Sinha’s conviction proves that: Law Minister
Law Minister Anisul Huq on Tuesday said it has been proved with the conviction of former Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha that no one is above the law. “The verdict proves no one is above the law. I think an example has been set with this. If anyone holds any constitutional or top government post he or she has to be accountable for his or her activities,” Anisul told reporters at the secretariat. “I’m not very happy with it. This cannot be a pleasant experience for me. He was the chief justice, and I’m a lawyer. I’ve been involved in the judiciary all my life,” said the minister. “From this verdict, we should learn that transparency and accountability should always be maintained, and those who hold important positions of the state have to be more careful,” he added.
READ: Ex-CJ Sinha gets 11 years in graft case
Replying to a question, he said, “In Bangladesh history, no chief justice had committed such unlawful work. So, there was no need to hold any trial.” Replying to another question, the minister said this verdict proves that the rule of law exists and the nation has come out of the culture of injustice which was there from 1975 to 1996. Conviction Earlier in the day, a special court in Dhaka sentenced former chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha to 11 years’ imprisonment in a case filed over laundering Tk 4 crore. The court also fined S K Sinha Tk 45 lakh, in default, to suffer six months more rigorous imprisonment.It also ordered the authorities concerned to confiscate Tk 78 lakh from his bank account. The court also sentenced eight other accused in the case to different jail terms while acquitted two others -- Md Shahjahan and Niranjan Chandra Saha --as allegations brought against them were not proved. Former managing director of Farmers Bank AKM Shamim got four years’ jail with a fine of Tk 50,000 while Santri Roy Simi and Ranjit Chandra Saha were sentenced to three years’ imprisonment each with a fine of Tk 10,000.
READ: CJ Sinha corruption case: Spl court defers judgment to Oct 21 The remaining four accused -- Gazi Salahuddin, senior executive vice president and former head of credit division of the bank, Swapan Kumar Roy, first vice president (Credit division), Shafiuddin Askari Ahmed, vice president Md Lutful Haque -- were sentenced to three years’ imprisonment each and fined Tk 25,000 each. On July 10, 2019, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case accusing former chief justice SK Sinha and 10 others of accumulating illegal wealth and laundering Tk 4 crore.
Chuadanga condemned convicts executed following rules: Home Minister
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Thursday said the executions of two Chuadanga death-row convicts in a murder case were carried out following the due rules.
The minister came up with the remark while responding to a query from a journalist at the secretariat over the reported executions of the two convicts before hearing their appeal.
“They were executed as per rules. No appeal had remained pending, and there was no violation of our system,” he said.
Read: Trying our best to execute jail killing case verdict: Home Minister
“So far, we know, no such incident occurred. There’s a procedure to carry out executions. A death-row convict can file a petition with the High Court against the verdict and if it rejects the appeal the convict can file a petition to the Appellate Division. If the petition is filed from jail then it’s a jail appeal. If the jail appeal is denied, then the convict may seek presidential clemency. If it’s rejected, then the convict is executed. All these steps were maintained one after another during the execution of the Chuadanga convicts,” said the minister.
Meanwhile, Law Minister Anisul Huq said the news of the execution of the two condemned convicts in Chuadanga before the appeal hearing in a murder case do not match the information he had received.
The minister made this remark while talking to reporters at his office at the secretariat on Thursday.
Read: Names of puja violence instigators to be disclosed soon: Home Minister
The law minister said those who had been executed were sentenced to death by a judicial court. Their death sentences were confirmed by the High Court and then the convicts filed jail appeals, he added.
Following the hearing on the jail appeal, the Appellate Division upheld the judgment of the High Court.
Their executions were carried out after their appeals for presidential clemency had been rejected, Anisul said.
Forming EC by enacting law not possible now: Law Minister
The Election Commission will be constituted through a search committee as it is not possible to form it through enacting a law right now, said law Minister Anisul Haque on Thursday.
“I’m not saying we won’t enact a law for forming the Election Commission as stated in the constitution. But it won’t be possible right now due to the Covid-19 pandemic as the tenure of the current EC will expire in February next,” he said.
The minister said this while responding to questions from journalists at a programme held at University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) in the city.
The minister said it has already been cleared by the Prime Minister recently that the Election Commission will be formed through a search committee.
“The President had sought opinion from all political parties when the search committee was formed. The gazette on the search committee was published when all agreed on it. The search committee gazette is not a law but close to a law as it was formed with a consensus and as per the President’s decision,” he said.
Read: Forming EC through search committee a deception: BNP
Khaleda must return to jail for seeking permission to go abroad: Law Minister
Law Minister Anisul Huq on Sunday said BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia must return to jail for submitting a fresh application seeking permission to go abroad for treatment.
Talking to UNB, Anisul also said his ministry has already given an opinion for extending further by six months the suspension of Khaleda’s jail sentences following an application submitted by her family to the government.
“There’s no scope to reconsider the application seeking permission to send Khaleda Zia abroad under section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). She has to go back to jail and then submit a fresh application if she wants to go abroad for treatment,” the minister said.
Read: Ailing Khaleda’s family seeks permission to send her abroad
Evidence on Zia’s involvement in Bangabandhu killing to be made public: Law Minister
Law Minister Anisul Haque said on Thursday said Ziaur Rahman was involved in the assassination of Bangabandhu and the evidence on it will be made public.
“The evidence of Ziaur Rahman's involvement in the assassination will be made public through a commission,” the minister said.
Read: 'Will prove Zia's involvement in Bangabandhu killing': Minister
He made the remarks while talking to reporters at his Gulshan residence.
The minister said Ziaur Rahman was not charged with the murder when the case was investigated because he was dead at the time and there is no provision to accuse a deceased of murder.
Read: Bangabandhu's killer Majed finally hanged
A commission will, however, be formed to find the masterminds of Bangabandhu's assassination and the evidence of Zia’s involvement would be brought in front of the nation through it, Anisul Haque said.
“The government is firm in bringing back the fugitive killers of Bangabandhu and executing the court's verdict. The process is underway but I won’t discuss it as it may hamper things,” the minister added.
Replying to a question whether Muslim Uddin, the fugitive killer of Bangabandhu, is hiding in disguise in India, the minister said,” So far, we haven’t found anything like that despite crosschecking with multiple sources.”
Khaleda has to seek presidential pardon to go abroad, says law minister
BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia has to first confess her corruption offense and seek pardon from the president before she can be allowed to go abroad for medical treatment, Law Minister Anisul Haq said on Wednesday.
Khaleda has no other alternative but to confess her guilt and seek mercy to the president if she wants to go abroad, the minister said in parliament.
This is the only legal way open to her, the lawyer-turned-politician said throwing a challenge that he will quit his profession if anyone can show another legal means.
READ: BNP’s efforts on to send Khaleda abroad: Fakhrul
Anisul was responding to allegations from two BNP legislators that the government is not allowing the former prime minister to leave the country for receiving better medical treatment because of political reason.
Speaking on the cut motion during the passage of the budget for 2021-22 fiscal, BNP lawmakers Harunur Rashid and Mosharof Hosen demanded that the government allows Khaleda to get treatment abroad.
The law minister said Khaleda’s family members had applied for her release to take her abroad for treatment.
“But in their application, they did not mention any provision of the law,” he said.
In this connection, he mentioned that the government considered an earlier appeal under 401 of penal code and suspended her corruption sentences and released her on two conditions.
The two conditions were that she will receive treatment at home staying in the country.
“They (Khaleda Zia's family) accepted it. They took Begum Zia home from jail,” he added.
Pointing to BNP leaders’ repeated appeal to send Khaleda abroad, the law minister said that once an application is disposed of, it cannot be reconsidered.
“They have applied and got her released abiding by certain conditions. Now they are saying that she has to go abroad and applied accordingly. That application is final (disposed of). No one else can do anything about it. That application has been disposed of under section 401,” the law minister said.
He also said that there are six sub-sections in the law.
“If you [BNP MPs] can show under those sub-sections that you will be able to apply again [to take Khaleda abroad], then I will not be in the legal profession anymore,” he challenged.
Pointing to provisions of the law to free Khaleda, the law minister said that any convicted person has to be released through the law.
READ: Send Khaleda abroad for treatment: Pro-BNP journos
“There is a way--they can apologise to the President or to the government admitting the guilt under section 401. If they ask for forgiveness, they can consider forgiving.”
Referring to Khaleda’s treatment, he said she was at Evercare Hospital where she received proper care.
The law minister urged the BNP to stop doing meaningless political stunt regarding Khaleda’s treatment.