The Supreme Court (SC) has abolished the existing condition of taking prior permission from the courts to pay fines by convicted prisoners, who had been sentenced and fined by different courts. The SC yesterday issued a circular, signed by High Court Registrar Abu Syed Dilzar Hossain, which states that the relatives of the convicted prisoners can pay the fines to Bangladesh Bank or Sonali Bank on behalf of the prisoners.  After paying the fines, the chalan copy of the payments have to be submitted to the jail authorities. After scrutinising the formalities, the jail authorities will release the prisoners in due time, according to the circular.
The prison authorities will release the convicted person after being completely satisfied that the total amount of the fine had been paid and will inform the trial court about the payment and the release of the victim, the circular said.
The fine money can be paid through the treasury record with the following code numbers: session’s/equivalent court- 1-2141-0000-1901, chief metropolitan magistracy- 1-2107-0000-1901, chief judicial magistracy- 1-2108-0000-1901 However, the concerned authorities must verify the authenticity of the treasury record and amount of the money paid to the bank over telephone or e-mail after receiving the treasury record, as per the circular.
The circular has been issued after the Supreme Court, in a full court meeting, had on September 8 approved a proposal in this regard.
Following the apex court order, the convicted prisoners will not suffer any more while paying fines imposed by the courts. The prisoners had to face difficulties because of the long-drawn procedure earlier, Additional Registrar to the Supreme Court Sabbir Foyez said. Earlier, the Supreme Court authorities formed a five-member committee, headed by High Court Registrar Abu Syed Dilzar Hossain, to find out an easy way for the prisoners to pay the fine.