Call for coordination
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has stressed the need for coordination among the state's three organs -- executive, legislature and judiciary.
“There should be coordination among the three organs of the state -- executive, legislature and judiciary -- and they should complement one another,” she said.
The branches would not interfere with each other's jurisdiction or show off power as none of them has less power, Hasina added.
The PM was addressing the inauguration ceremony of the newly constructed Judges Complex, the residential facility for Supreme Court judges, in the city's Kakrail, reported BSS.
“A country can't be run smoothly if we get into conflict on who would honour whom and who wouldn't; who would accept a decision from another and who wouldn't.”
She said every constitutional body had to exercise power in public interest. “We should not do anything which might hamper public interest or create conflict with others.”
UNB added: Speaking at the programme as special guest, Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha alleged that a quarter was out to create a distance between the government and the judiciary.
“A quarter is always engaged in an evil design to create a distance between the government and the judiciary. Such a misunderstanding sends a wrong message to the people,” he told the audience.
Sinha said the government took three very important decisions regarding the judiciary a few days ago, but the chief justice, as the guardian of the judiciary, was not kept in the loop.
“The decisions have been realised from the head of the government through presenting completely wrong information and hiding facts,” the CJ said.
He observed that the misunderstanding could have been avoided had there been discussions with the CJ prior to making the decisions.
He, however, didn't elaborate on the matters he was referring to.
PM THANKS JUDICIARY
Hasina said Bangladesh would have been developed as a prosperous country long ago had Bangabandhu been alive.
Bangabandhu had been in power for only three and a half years and during that period he laid the foundation of all the basic developments of the country, she told the programme.
The PM thanked the judiciary for its courageous role in delivering the judgment in the Bangabandhu murder case.
She also lauded the judiciary for the successful trials of the notorious war criminals of 1971, saying that each of its verdicts was a milestone in making Bangladesh's journey smoother as an independent nation.
Referring to the long process of formulating a law, Hasina said elected public representatives were entitled to frame laws in public interest.
“If any law is declared null and void by a two-member bench, all the efforts behind the process go in vein.”
She called for considering the matter more carefully.
The PM said the residential complex was constructed considering the safety and security of the judges and also to provide them with modern housing facilities. Similar steps were being taken at the district and upazila levels.
The government was taking steps for trial of notorious criminals through video conferencing between the prosecution and the defence from courts and jails, she added.
CHIEF JUSTICE
The CJ said the civilisation in a country flourishes on the capability and independence of its judiciary. “In other words, the best way to measure any government's success is to measure the capability and independence of the country's judiciary.”
Maintaining a balance among the state's three branches is part and parcel of the constitution, and the judiciary helps maintain the balance, he added.
Sinha said each organ of the state would have to discharge its duties within the framework of the existing laws and the constitution.
“While performing duties, there could be cold relations among the state's different organs at times. If this is considered positively, creativity would develop in each of the branches. This would help a lot establish the rule of law and ensure people's welfare.”
He said the judiciary played a very important role in strengthening democracy in the country.
The biggest challenge to the judiciary was the huge backlog of cases and the inadequate number of judges, the CJ pointed out.
In India, he said, there are 18 judges for one million people, whereas the number is 10 in Bangladesh. “Moreover, there's no infrastructural facility for this small number of judges.”
Sinha said there were seven judges at the Appellate Division and 85 at the High Court Division of the Supreme Court. Among the 85 judges, three were working at the international crimes tribunals and four were seriously ill. “As a result, I often struggle to constitute benches.”
The situation would be worse following the retirement of seven judges this year, he said.
About the digitisation process, the CJ said although the government launched the process in almost all the ministries, divisions and departments, the judiciary was not included in it.
He said the judiciary took up the e-judiciary project, but it was interrupted for an unknown reason. He sought the PM's intervention in this regard.
The judiciary always discharged its duties at crucial times of the state and hoped that the pro-liberation government would help the judiciary perform its duties in a stronger way, Sinha added.
Later, the premier unveiled the plaque of the 20-storey Judges Complex. Built on 1.5 acres of land at a cost of around Tk174 crore, the building houses 76 flats.
Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain and Law Minister Anisul Haq were present.
Hasina had laid the foundation stone of the complex in May 2011.
The PM later inaugurated the 25-storey commercial building of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation on Rajuk Avenue in the city.
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