Dhaka: Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Haque said the coronavirus had deprived lawyers, especially junior lawyers, of their practice for nearly two and a half months. As a result, many have fallen into financial crisis. Many are in trouble. Arrangements are being made to provide long-term loans at low interest rates to alleviate their woes. This loan will be given through Bangladesh Bar Council.
The law minister was speaking as the chief guest in virtual media at the inauguration ceremony of the eight-storey Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court building at a cost of Taka 54 crore in Faridpur on Sunday (September 13).
Recalling that Bangabandhu murder case and jail murder case have been tried during Sheikh Hasina's tenure, crimes against humanity have been tried, the minister said the first punishment in this subcontinent was also during her government for death in custody. He said the rule of law can be established by punishing the criminals. No one is above the law, everyone in this country has to obey the law and if it is violated, he will be tried and punished according to the law. It must be remembered by all.
"People will trust us only when they get proper justice," he said. Judges and lawyers are two of the most valuable organs for enforcing the judiciary, he said. Just as the judiciary is one of the three important organs of the state, judges and lawyers are two very important institutions for the proper management of the judiciary. Together these two institutions must ensure the rights of the people to justice.
He said that the development trend of the present government will continue. The e-judiciary project that has been undertaken at a cost of Taka 2876 crore will also be implemented. People will get the benefits of these works if justice is ensured. He said that at present there are 37 lakh cases pending in different courts. This complication must be reduced. We will try to reduce the complexity of the case and bring justice to the people by going between 'Justice Delayed is Justice Denied and Justice Hurried is Justice Buried'. What will happen if justice is not delivered to the people should not be uttered.
The minister said, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, like her father, believed in the independence and development of the judiciary. He said the court buildings built by the British had not been changed by other governments until Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came to power. After the leader of the people Sheikh Hasina came to power, she started developing the infrastructure of the judiciary on a large scale. The touch of development of his government has reached from the Supreme Court to the Magistrate Court at the district level. The government is constructing Chief Judicial Magistrate Court buildings and District Judge Court buildings in the districts. Judges have been properly evaluated and their salary- allowances were increased. Because Sheikh Hasina thinks that if the judges are financially prosperous, they will be able to concentrate on their work and the people will get fair justice.
He said that although the constitution given by Bangabandhu promised to separate the judiciary, the military and Khaleda Zia's government did not implement it. Since Sheikh Hasina came to power in 1996, the judiciary has undergone many positive changes and as a result of these changes, the judiciary was separated on November 1, 2007.
The inaugural function chaired by Faridpur District and Sessions Judge Md. Selim Mia it was addressed by Manzur Hossain MP and Mojibur Rahman Chowdhury (Nixon), MP, Law secretary Golam Sarwar, Deputy Commissioner Atul Sarkar, Superintendent of Police Md. Alimuzzaman, District Awami League President Advocate Subal Chandra Saha, District Bar Association President AOM Khaled. The program was conducted by Bikash Kumar Saha, Joint Secretary, Law and Justice Department.