Jurisdiction of lower court judges increased

The Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed in Parliament yesterday with a provision to raise the financial jurisdiction of lower court judges for disposal of civil cases.

Law Minister Anisul Huq moved the bill and it was passed by voice vote.

According to the bill, higher threshold of pecuniary jurisdiction was increased to Tk 15 lakh instead of the existing Tk 2 lakh for an assistant judge, while Tk 25 lakh is now in place of Tk 4 lakh for a senior assistant judge when trying civil suits, according to the bill.

For hearing appeals of civil suits, the financial jurisdiction was raised to Tk 5 crore from the existing Tk 5 lakh for a district judge.

With the passage of this bill, an assistant judge can try civil cases with asset value of maximum Tk 15 lakh each, while a senior assistant judge can try a civil suit with asset value of maximum Tk 25 lakh.

A provision was incorporated in the law to transfer to the district judge court appeals which are pending with the High Court against the decree or order made by joint district judges in civil suits involving maximum Tk 5 crore.