DCs won't get judicial powers
The government will not give executive powers to the DCs for holding summary trial of offences as there is no scope for providing them with such powers in line with the Supreme Court directives, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said yesterday.
At the conference of deputy commissioners (DCs), they demanded the power to control law and order and other offences effectively.
Emerging from the meeting at the Cabinet Division's conference room at the secretariat, the law minister told newsmen that the judiciary has been separated from the executive branch of the government on November 1, 2007, as per the SC directives and the executive magistrates including the DCs cannot be given such judicial powers.
He, however, said the government has already amended the related law empowering the DCs to take some offences into cognisance for trial.
The government has taken steps to update the contempt of court law, specifying the issues to be considered as a contempt of court, mentioned Shafique adding, a bill for amending the law has already been placed before the parliamentary standing committee on law, justice and parliamentary affairs for scrutiny, and it may be passed in the next session of parliament.
The proposed amendment to the law, said the minister, will keep the government officials and staff out of the contempt of court proceedings.
He said the DCs had demanded amending the law, since the court (High Court) very often issues contempt of court rule against them and summons them before it in connection with different issues.
The deputy commissioners have informed the meeting that they had to abandon their official duties to appear before the court in connection with contempt of court petitions.
The minister instructed the DCs to execute the SC directives properly in order to protect the interest of people.
Delays by law officials at the district level and solicitor's office under the law ministry for placing case records before the court result in loss of huge land from government's possession, he mentioned.
Shafique asked the commissioners to identify the officials responsible for causing such delay and take action against them.
He directed the DCs to send the records of land related cases to the solicitor's office to move appeals before the HC against district courts' verdicts to save public land.
The three-day conference ended yesterday.
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