IGP
convicted for contempt of court
The
High Court Division of the Supreme Court has convicted the Inspector
General of Police (IGP) and three other traffic sergeants for contempt
of court. A Division Bench comprising Justice MA Matin and Justice Syed
Refat Ahmed ordered the IGP to pay Tk 2,000 in fines or, in default,
serve a one-month prison term for contempt of court. The Court also
ordered Sergeant Shoebur Rahman to pay Tk 1,000 in fines or in default,
spend two months in jail and Sergeants Mustafizur Rahman and Russell
Arafat to pay Tk 500 each or in default, spend one month in jail . Traffic
Inspector Obaidul Huq and Sergeant Hafiz Mahmud were acquitted. Earlier
on 11 November 2003, the Court issued suo motu contempt rule on the
Inspector-General of Police for his written comments and remarks while
replying to certain queries in connection with the contempt case against
the traffic policemen. The original suo motu contempt rule was issued
on 30 June 2003 against five traffic officers for not showing due respect
to a sitting judge of the High Court on his way to court in a flag car.-
Law Desk.
Report
of SJC submitted
The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has submitted its probe
report on alleged misconduct of an additional judge of the High Court
to the President. Head of the Council Chief Justice KM Hasan handed
over the report on his last day in the office. The Council was formed
to probe allegation of corruption against an additional judge of the
High Court Division. If the report holds the judge guilty of misconduct,
the president will remove him. Earlier Barrister Rokonuddin Mahmood,
president of the Supreme Court Bar Association alleged that a High Court
judge had taken Tk. 50000 from an accused in a woman's repression case
to help him get bail by persuading a fellow judge. The council heard
deposition of eight persons including the additional judge, Bar president
and client Nasim Sultana Kona.- Law Desk.
Tribunal
for land disputes approved
The government has decided to set up land survey tribunals
exclusively to deal with disputes on land records and surveys and ensure
speedy disposal of those cases. A land survey appellate tribunal will
also be set up to deal with appeals against judgements of the land survey
tribunals. Only the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court will have
the jurisdiction to hear an appeal against any order or judgement of
the land appellate tribunal. The cabinet on Monday approved the State
Acquisition and Tenancy (Amendment) Bill 2004 to this effect. The State
Acquisition and Tenancy (Amendment) Bill provides that the government
will have the power to set up such numbers of land survey tribunals
across the country as it thinks proper. If the bill is made into an
act, all cases regarding land records and surveys will have to be filed
with the tribunals. The tribunals will deal exclusively with those cases.
They will have the power and jurisdiction of civil courts and will have
to follow the Code of Civil Procedure to the extent possible. The bill
also includes an English translation of the act. -Law Desk.
Life
term to six rapists
The Special Tribunal for Prevention of Women and Children Repression,
Barishal has sentenced six people to life imprisonment for gangraping
a newly married girl in Barishal. Judge Nurul Huq also fined them Tk
one lakh each and asked the administration to collect the fines and
give 50 percent of the amount to the victim. The convicts will have
to suffer two more years' rigorous imprisonment if they fail to pay
the fines. The convicts are Mahbub Chowkider, Siddik Dafader, Shahidullah
Howlader, Hanif Peyada, Abdus Salam Sarder and Ishaque Hossain. According
to the prosecution story, Mamtaz Begum,19, daughter of Mati Bepari,
a day-labourer of Miar Char under Gournadi upazila, was abducted at
gunpoint from her father's house by a gang of hoodlums on the night
of April 9 in 2002. They took her to a nearby garden and gangraped her.
Next morning, local people rescued the victim who lodged a rape case
with Gournadi police against the six rapists. -Daily Star, 25 February.
Defamation
suit against Inqilab
A Dhaka court has summoned the editor, publisher and two reporters
of the daily Inqilab to appear in the court after hearing a defamation
suit filed by writer-columnist Shahriar Kabir. Shahriar filed the suit
with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's (CMM) Court for carrying what
he said was a false news item. Magistrate Emdadul Haque summoned the
accused to appear in court on March 26. According to the complaint,
the four have continuously published derogatory items against Shahriar
Kabir, a writer-cum-columnist, only to tarnish his image. On 8 December
last year, the daily published a front-paged news item titled "Sniper
bullets recovered from the house of Shahriar Kabir" with sub-title
"Creating anarchy including political murder is the goal".
-Ittefq, 23 January.
Bill
introduced to reform courts
Law Minister Moudud Ahmed a bill in the Jatiyo Sangsad styled
'Court Reforms Implementation (auxiliary provision) Bill, 2004 ' The
aim of the bill is to implement reforms of the existing case management
and court administration. Introducing the bill, he said a donor-funded
project, 'Legal Capacity Building', was under the process implementation
to bring massive reforms in the age-old judicial system. The Law Minister
said under the project reforms would be brought about by introducing
IT in the court administration and in case management system. Some existing
laws, orders and provisions might have to be suspended to pave the way
for reform.-Prothom Alo, 26 January.
3
Bangladeshis convicted in UK
Three Bangladeshis have been convicted and sent to prison in
London for misappropriating money by counterfeiting with a local company,
Prudential. The convicts are Abdul Kuddus (26), Jahangir Elaan (36)
and Mubina Mirza (27). They were sent to jail for 15, 36 & 42 months
after their trial in 15 January 2004 at Sadark Crown Court. Kuddus and
Mubina knew each other from their university life and Kuddus was introduced
with Jahangir in a wedding ceremony. In June 2000, Mubina joined in
the London branch of Prudential Company as a Treasury Clark of Finance
Department. Her job was to issue the checks and clear the invoices of
the office. That time, Prudential Company was involved in a development
program in London and those 3 accused persons issued a check in name
of J. Elaan and withdraw 1,92,562 pounds 89 pence. Prudential's development
program could not find it before their audit. They shared the money
and spent it by exchanging expensive gifts among themselves. But they
were caught when they tried to do the same for the second time against
another invoice of the company. Janakantha, 27 January.
