Chief Justice
Allowances of CJ, SC judges to be raised; Bills placed
Two bills were placed in Parliament on Saturday to raise the allowances of the the Chief Justice and the judges of the Appellate Division and the High Court.
Law Minister Anisul Huq placed the two bills -- 'Bangladesh Supreme Court Judges (Remuneration and Privileges) Act, 2021' and 'Bangladesh Supreme Court Judges (Travelling Allowance) Act, 2021'.
READ: Bangladesh’s Golden Jubilee of Independence: PM seeks general discussion in Parliament
The Bangladesh Supreme Court Judges (Remuneration and Privileges) Act, 2021 will replace the existing ordinance of 1978 while the Bangladesh Supreme Court Judges (Travelling Allowance) Act, 2021 will replace an ordinance of 1976.
READ: Cabinet approves President’s draft speech to be delivered in Parliament
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.
Judge Kamrunnahar loses judicial power temporarily
Mosammat Kamrunnahar, Judge of the Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-7, has been asked not to sit in the court from Sunday morning.
However, she has been attached to the law and justice department of the Law Ministry.
Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain took the decision in consultation with senior justices of the Supreme Court (SC), revoking her judicial power temporarily, said an SC media release.
“As per the directive, Judge Kamrunnahar won’t be allowed to sit in the court from 9:30 am on Sunday,” the release said.
Read: Nine new High Court judges take oath
However, the SC also sent a letter to the Law Ministry seeking attachment of Judge Kamrunnahar to the Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Division after revoking her judicial powers temporarily.
The SC issued the press release a day after Law Minister Anisul Haque said he would send a letter to the Chief Justice seeking action against Judge Mosammat Kamrunnahar for making an observation while delivering judgement in the Banani double rape case.
Read: Plan to dispose 6 lakh pending cases by 2022: Law Minister
Five accused in the sensational Banani Raintree Hotel rape case were acquitted by the court of Judge Mosammat Kamrunnahar.
In her judgement on Thursday, Kamrunnahar recommended the police not to accept rape cases 72 hours after the incidence.
Sinha’s conviction a bad precedent: Gayeshwar
BNP senior leader Gayeshwar Chandra Roy on Tuesday described the conviction of former Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha by a special court in a money-laundering case as a ‘bad precedent’’."There’s nothing to condemn or accept (verdict against Sinha). My personal opinion is that SK Sinha was good as long as he could appease the government’s desires as the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice has been sentenced to 11 years; an example has been set,” he said.Speaking at a discussion, the BNP leader also said this verdict has also sent out a message that there is no guarantee that those who are now in the court will never face the same fate.
READ: Ex-CJ Sinha gets 11 years in graft case
“If the job is to protect by satisfying the (current) government, then you may have to go to jail to satisfy the next one. Such an example can never be good for any nation. But the current Prime Minister can’t understand it,” he observed.Gayeshwar, also a BNP standing committee member, said the day Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will realize the consequences of bad practices she will have nothing to do.Jatiyatabadi Samajik Sangskritik Sangstha (Jasas), the cultural wing of BNP, arranged the programme at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU), marking what it calls “civil-military uprising’ on November 7 in 1975.Earlier in the day, a special court in Dhaka sentenced former chief justice Surendra Kumar (SK) Sinha to 11 years’ imprisonment in a case filed over laundering Tk 4 crore.The court also fined the ex-chief justice Tk 45 lakh, in default, to suffer six months more rigorous imprisonment.
READ: No one is above law, Sinha’s conviction proves that: Law Minister
Gayeshwar said politicians should not have any greed for power if they do politics for the welfare of people. “If power is meant only for looting and making fortune, then Sheikh Hasina is a perfect example in Bangladesh, and she is successful in that case.”He also said Hasina has been governing the country standing against the hopes and aspirations of people.
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.
CJ Sinha case: Judgment on Oct 5
A Dhaka court on Tuesday fixed October 5 for delivering its judgment in a graft case filed against former chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha and 10 others over laundering Tk 4 crore.
Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 Sheikh Nazmul Alam fixed the date after concluding law point arguments from both the state and the defence counsel.
Read:Court wraps up witness statements in graft case against ex-chief justice SK Sinha
Earlier, on August 29, seven of the 11 accused in the case defended themselves as innocent, and hoped they will get justice.
They are Mahbubul Haque Chisty, former audit committee chairman of Farmers Bank, former managing director of the bank AKM Shamim, first vice president Swapan Kumar Rat, VP Md Lutful Haque, former SEVP Gazi Salahudiin, Md Shahjahan and Niranjan Chandra Saha.
On August 24, the defence lawyers questioned the investigation officer of the case Benazir Ahmed, director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
So far, the court has recorded the statements of 21 witnesses in this case.
On July 10, 2019, the ACC filed the case accusing former chief justice SK Sinha and 10 others of accumulating illegal wealth and laundering Tk 4 crore.
Read:Money laundering case: EX- CJ Sinha among 11 indicted
On September 25, 2019, the anti-graft body summoned five officials of the Farmers Bank Ltd for interrogation over the deposit of Tk 4 crore in SK Sinha’s account with the Supreme Court branch of Sonali Bank Ltd.
On December 10, 2019, the investigation officer of the case filed a chargesheet against the 11 accused.
On August 13, 2020, a court framed charges against the 11 including SK Sinha.
Virtual Courts can’t run for indefinite period: Khandaker Mahbub
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Khandaker Mahbub Hossain on Tuesday said that the virtual courts can’t run for an indefinite period as it has created crisis for lawyers and justice seekers.
18 High Court judges get permanent seats
Eighteen judges, who served as additional justices to the High Court, have been made permanent.