Sentencing of lawyer by MOBILE COURT
HC summons exec magistrate
STAFF REPORTER
In its latest intervention in abuse of power by mobile court magistrates, the HC yesterday summoned Dinajpurs Birganj upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) for sentencing a lawyer following an argument over taking a seat in the public servants office. The move comes on the back of a recent observation by the HC that executive magistrates are abusing their power in mobile courts. The HC gave the order over an incident that took place on December 13 when Birganj Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Biroda Rani Roy set up a mobile court and fined lawyer Nirod Bihari Tk 500 or a days imprisonment in default.
December 13 was the very day when the HC observation came in connection to a case on the abuse of power by means of a mobile court which resulted in the sentencing of a former civil surgeon by an executive magistrate in Laxmipur.
The High Court yesterday asked the assistant commissioner (land), popularly known as AC (land), who is currently serving on the same post in Bhurungamari upazila in Kurigram, to appear before it on December 27 to explain the sentencing of the lawyer through a mobile court convened hastily. A
vacation bench of the HC comprising Justice Habibul Gani and Justice KM Kamrul Quader came up with the order following newspaper reports over the matter.
AC (land) Biroda Rani Roy had convened a mobile court and fined advocate Nirod Bihari, 60, a member of the Dinajpur Bar Association, Tk 500 or a days imprisonment in case of default.
Soon after the incident, the lawyers of Dinajpur came down heavily on the mobile court decision. Biroda was transferred to Bhurungamari later as the authorities concerned stand-released the AC (land) on the same day.
A report was published on different newspapers on the incident, including online lawyersclubbangladesh.com.
The vacation bench of the HC also ordered Advocate Nirod Bihari and lawyersclubbangladesh.com Editor Dr Bodrul Hasan Kochi to appear before it on December 27.
Advocate Syed Mohidul Kabir and advocate Kazi Helal Uddin, Supreme Court lawyers, yesterday drew the attention of the HC bench placing the news report before bench and sought necessary order over the matter.
Earlier on December 13, High Court bench observed that executive magistrates are abusing their power by running mobile courts from their offices instead of visiting the scene of incident, as they should.
The bench of Justice Quazi Reza-ul Hoque and Justice Mohammad Ullah made the observation while hearing another case on the abuse of power by means of a mobile court.
The case was about the three-month imprisonment of a former civil surgeon of Laxmipur, Dr Salahuddin Sharif, by the Sadar upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) on the charge of assaulting the additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of Laxmipur. The order was delivered at a mobile court.
The court exempted ADC Sheikh Morshedul Islam and UNO Kamruzzaman from a rule issued by it against them after they sought unconditional apology. But, the bench directed the authorities to not post the duo in places where they can abuse their power.
We ask the secretaries of law, public administration, and home to not post them in places where they can get the opportunity to abuse their power, the HC bench said.
On December 4, Dr Sharif was sentenced to three months imprisonment by a mobile court led by Kamruzzaman for allegedly assaulting Sheikh Morshedul.
The matter had started from a brawl near a kindergarten school. The two guardians, Dr Sharif and Sheikh Morshedul, had been locked in a scuffle over who would get in first through the narrow school entrance.
In its observation, the HC also said that our social conditions make mobile courts necessary; they are sometimes used in abuse of power, which is not acceptable.
In some cases, it seems that the executive magistrates are running the mobile courts to protect their own interests and to flaunt their power, in violation of the law. In a civilized country, it is unthinkable for a government officer to abuse power in this manner, the court added.
Rights activists have been protesting against the mobile courts run by executive magistrates since 2007. The mobile court ordinance was promulgated in that year during the regime of the Army-backed caretaker government.
On October 4, 2009, the incumbent government passed the Mobile Court Bill to enact an earlier ordinance allowing metropolitan and district magistrates to resume the operations of mobile courts.
The new legislation authorized executive magistrates to punish offenders on the spot, awarding a maximum sentence of two years for offences under 85 different laws.
