Wrong report by section of admin officials
SC cant discharge due role, says CJ
STAFF REPORTER
Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha yesterday rued that the Supreme Court (SC) cannot discharge its due role, as given to it by the Constitution and the laws of the land, which is resulting in an increasing trend of tendency towards crimes, corruption and even terrorist activities. Had the Supreme Court been able to discharge its duties properly, as bestowed upon it by the Constitution and the laws of the land, I think the tendency towards crime and corruption and even terrorist activities would have come down sharply, he said.
The Chief Justice made the observations while addressing the inaugural session of the Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission Online Application Registration System at the Judicial Administration Training Institution (JATI) in the capital as the chief guest. Explaining the reason for the apex courts disability to properly discharge its duties, the CJ said a section of officials of the administration was conveying wrong reports about the judiciary to the head of the government, resulting in a misunderstanding between the judiciary and the administration. A section of lower level officials of the administration is giving wrong explanations to the top administration, Justice Sinha added, and urged the admin officials to refrain from giving such wrong explanations to ensure good relations between the judiciary and the government. The judiciary is not affected by these wrong explanations; rather, it takes a toll on the government, the CJ added.
The Chief Justice, however, clarified that the judiciary has no rivalry, either with the administration or the government. About the vacancies in the lower judiciary, Justice Sinha said a total of 307 posts in the lower court judges, including six of district judges, have been lying vacant for a long time, resulting in a huge backlog of cases. These posts could not be filled as the government is yet to give its nod to an apex court proposal, he noted.
The CJ disclosed that more than 30 lakh cases are currently pending before the courts for disposal across the country. We have sent a proposal over the vacant posts in the judiciary. But we did not get assistance from the administration, he rued. The CJ also said the government annually collected Tk. 3,000 crore as revenue from the judiciary. Yet, the lower court judges have to share their courtrooms during the judicial function since there is a dearth of sufficient courtrooms, he pointed out.
The CJ also mentioned several achievements of the apex court, including the deliberations in the Bangabandhu murder case, the jail killing case and war crimes cases.
Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission chairman and Appellate Division judge Justice Hasan Foez Siddique presided over the programme while another Appellate Division judge, Justice Abdul Wahhab Miah, attorney-general Mahbubey Alam, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bangladesh country director Sudipto Mukerjee, JATI director Justice Khandaker Musa Khaled and Justice Quamrul Islam Siddique also addressed the function, among others.
