Law ministry against EC plan to empower executive magistrates
The law ministry has opposed the Election Commission's move to empower executive magistrates to hold trial of some electoral offences in mobile courts in city corporation polls saying it contradicts the Code of Criminal Procedure, said EC officials.
"In the draft rules for conducting city corporation polls, the commission gave executive magistrates the authority to hold trial of some electoral offences. But the Code of Criminal Procedure doesn't approve of such delegation," a senior EC official told The Daily Star last week referring to the law ministry's opinion.
Executive magistrates presiding over mobile courts cannot sentence anyone more than two years' imprisonment. But the EC draft rules allowed them to hold trial of those electoral offences for which an individual could face up to seven years' imprisonment.
The EC sent the draft rules to the law ministry for vetting. The ministry disagreed over the commission's move saying the electoral offences should be tried summarily according to the Code of Criminal Procedure, said the EC officials.
Legal experts said the Code of Criminal Procedure clearly specifies the functions and jurisdictions of judicial and executive magistrates, and does not allow executive magistrates to hold trial of any electoral offence or imprison such offenders.
On receipt of the law ministry's opinion at the end of last month, the EC officials have been preparing the draft rules afresh in line with the law ministry's opinion and will place it before the EC for further action, they said.
In the draft rules, the commission specified the electoral offences to be tried summarily by executive and judicial magistrates.
According to the draft rules, executive magistrates, who are administrative cadres, will hold trials of corrupt practices in polls like taking or giving bribes, and making false statements against candidates.
A person could be sentenced to imprisonment for a minimum of two years and up to seven years with fines for committing those offences.
Executive magistrates are empowered to hold trial of offences like conducting electoral campaigns on the election day within 400 yards of polling stations, and using microphones or loudspeakers on the day.
The draft rules suggest sentencing such offenders to imprisonment for a minimum of six months and up to three years.
But the mobile court act says executive magistrates presiding over mobile courts cannot sentence anyone to imprisonment for more than two years regardless of the punishment stipulated in the laws concerned.
The EC move to empower executive magistrates with such judicial authority also contradicts with the opinion of the Supreme Court that disapproves allowing executive magistrates to hold trial of electoral offences.
The EC wrote to the SC, seeking its opinion on the matter before the December 29 polls in 2008.
The SC general administrative committee, headed by the chief justice, unanimously decided that only experienced judicial magistrates should be engaged in administering justice in cases related to electoral offences.
"As jurisdictions of the judicial and executive magistrates are clearly delineated, the latter need not be entrusted with the authority of the former," the SC noted.
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