Village Court Bill passed in parliament
The "Village Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2024" was passed in the parliament today, empowering the village courts to impose fines up to Tk 3 lakh.
LGRD Minister Tazul Islam placed the bill which was passed by voice vote.
As per the bill, a village court comprises five members, including the union parishad chairman.
In some cases, the court cannot function if any member remains absent.
According to the draft law, if a vote takes place on a disputed matter in the absence of a member, and an equal number of votes are cast in favour of two sides, then the party gaining the chairman's vote will be declared winner.
Additionally, in some instances of the previous law, the term "minor" is being replaced with "child".
In 2013, by amending the Village Court Act, the government strengthened the court allowing it to impose fines up to Tk 75,000.
According to the objective of the bill, Village Courts Ordinance, 1976 was enacted to ensure speedy and easy settlement of minor disputes of local people in rural areas.
Later, the Village Courts Act, 2006 was enacted by repealing the Ordinance and some sections of the act were amended in 2013.
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