Law 'misjudged' by judges

The High Court has expressed anxiety over 117 cases, in saying their proceedings had become complicated as the judges in the lower court concerned in Dhaka failed to follow the relevant provisions of law.
The observation was made by the HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Akram Hossain Chowdhury in an April 4 verdict, the full text of which was released on April 29.
The verdict was given following a petition filed by Iftekharul Karim, an alleged operative of Hizb ut-Tahrir, challenging the legality of an order of the court of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge in Dhaka that had taken charges against him into cognisance without permission from the government.
The Dhanmondi police filed the case on February 25, 2011, against Iftekharul Karim under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009 for holding an unlawful assembly along with around 10 to 12 people under the banner of Hizb ut-Tahrir chanting slogans in support of the establishment of a Khilafat state.
According to section 40s (2) of the Act, the trial court judges must take government permission before accepting charges in any case filed under the law.
The HC bench in the verdict directed the authorities concerned of the government to take necessary steps to give proper guidelines, knowledge and motivation to the judges concerned after enactment of a new law.
The metropolitan sessions judges of different districts, including Dhaka, have been making a similar mistake, as they are taking into cognisance cases filed under this law without having government permission, the court said in the verdict.
Metropolitan Sessions Judge Zahirul Haque having no prior sanction from the government took into cognisance the case against Iftekharul Karim and eventually framed charges against him, it said.
"Thus, the learned metropolitan sessions judge [Zahirul] had acted illegally in taking cognisance of the case without prior sanction of the government as per provision of section 40s (2) of Santrash Birodhi Ain, 2009 and as such the order of taking cognisance is illegal and it has vitiated the subsequent proceedings of the case," the HC verdict read.
The Daily Star has obtained a copy of the verdict.
The HC, however, permitted the lower court judge to take into cognisance the case afresh against the accused if he gets or obtains a valid and legal sanction from the government to that end, saying that a criminal offence never abates or gets destroyed.
In a written reply to the HC rule about the 117 cases, Zahirul on November 26 last year said he had not taken government permission before taking the charges into cognisance as the prosecution and the defence did not make him aware of the provision.
Zahirul also apologised to the HC for not following the law properly and said he had later sought government permission for holding the trial.
Leaders and activists of various banned militant organisations, including Hizb ut-Tahrir, Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, Jagroto Muslim Janata, Harkatul Jihad al Islami (Huji) and Shahadat-e Al Hikma, are accused in these cases, said sources in the HC.
Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh coordinator Mohiuddin Ahmed, also an associate professor of Dhaka University, is among the accused. He is now out in bail, the sources added.
The HC on November 12 issued a rule asking Judge Zahirul to explain why he had accepted the charges against Iftekharul under the anti-terrorism law without government approval.
Earlier, the accused petitioner got bail from the HC in the case.