Lawyers and journalists in Chattogram have demanded to set up a full-fledged bench of High Court.
A view exchange meeting between journalists and prominent lawyers of Chattogram was held at the VIP lounge of Chattogram Press Club on the occasion on Saturday.
High Court implementation Parishad President Advocate ASM Badrul Anwar presided over the function. Parishad Chief Coordinator Advocate Badrul Huda Mamun, Former President Advocate Nazimuddin Chowdhury, Former Secretary Advocate Zahed Hossain Mir, Former President Advocate Mahbubuddin Ahmed, Advocate Zia Habib Ahsan, Advocate Mohammad Badrul Riaz, Advocate Golam Maona Murad, Vice President of Chattogram Metropolitan Chamber (CMCCI) AM Mahbub Chowdhury, Jane Alam Selim of Peshajibi Parishad, Former Secretary of Chamber and Poet Ovik Osman, Khatunganj Trade and Industries Association's member Baktiar, Rehab member Abdul Gaffar Meyaji, Kaler Kanto Ctg Bureau Chief Mustafa Naeem, CMUJ General Secretary Saleh Noman, Senior Journalist of BSS Ariful Islam, Journalist Kamrul Huda, MA Kader of Stock Exchange, among others attended the programme.
Advocate ASM Badrul Anwar said that the population of Chattogram is about 30 million. This division has 11 districts, 103 upazilas, 120 police stations, 62 municipalities, 949 union councils, one of the largest seaports in South Asia is located in Chattogram. One of the largest seaports in South Asia is located in Chattogram. In addition, there are countless factories and industrial institutions including the country's largest steel construction factory, shipbuilding factories and many individual and multinational companies. The largest wholesale market in Bangladesh, Khatunganj is located in Chattogram. Chattogram's trade and commerce plays the highest role in economic development. 75% of the country's export trade and 80% of import trade take place at the Chattogram seaport. 60% of the country's revenue comes from Chattogram trade and commerce. And Chattogram's contribution to GDP is 12%. This division has many heavy industrial institutions, cement factories, textiles, EPZs, shipbreaking industries, multinational companies and many small institutions. But the long-awaited permanent bench of the High Court Division to ensure the legal rights of the people of Chattogram, including their civil and fundamental rights, has not yet been re-established.
The 'High Court Bench Implementation Parishad, Chattogram' is declaring solidarity with this legitimate demand of the people of Chattogram. The permanent bench of the High Court is making the legally just and logical demands of the people of Chattogram.
He said, the High Court bench in the divisional city is a timely and logical demand. There are 25,000 cases pending in the High Court alone related to customs, VAT and income tax. In which about 31,000 crore taka of the government's customs, revenue and VAT cases are stuck in a mess. Of the cases pending, 70% are related to Chattogram Port and Chattogram Trade. But since the High Court is in Dhaka, the cost of the case is 4 times higher than normal. In addition, if you fall into the clutches of fraud, you have to lose 10-20 times more taka. Therefore, money itself creates an obstacle to depriving people of their legal rights. Not only is the cost of individuals or organizations increasing. The government is also spending excessive money to handle port and customs cases from Chattogram.
The speakers said that it is the long-standing responsibility of the peope to establish a High Court bench in Chattogram. The recent report of the Judicial Reform Commission has taken the issue of establishing circuit benches of the High Court outside Dhaka positively. Currently, only 2000 judges provide judicial services to about 200 million people in Bangladesh. In 1956, the first constitution of Pakistan, namely the constitution of 72, was adopted to establish the rule of law - 100 amendments were made to ensure the provision of justice to the people. But even after 54 years of independence, it has not been implemented.
In 1982, permanent benches of the High Court were established in Chattogram, Rangpur, Jessore, Barisal, Comilla and Sylhet as per Article 4 of the military decree. But when the constitution was revived, a constitutional crisis arose. Currently, there is no provision for permanent benches in the constitution, only for circuit benches. However, General Ershad, through the much-discussed 8th amendment to the constitution, elevated the status of the six circuit benches to permanent benches by adding articles.
This exposed a new dimension of the crisis. With the constitutional validity and status of a permanent bench, the Dhaka-based lawyers had no choice but to file a case in court for leadership.
Then on September 2, 1989, the Appellate Division, by a majority of 3-1, partially annulled Article 2.A of the 8th Amendment regarding decentralization of the High Court.
The main argument of that judgment was that Bangladesh is a single state. Therefore, there is no scope for more than one permanent bench except for the High Court in the capital of the state. Although Justice A.T.M. Afzal, who was in the majority, opposed this decision. Citing examples of other countries in the world, he said that it is right to establish High Courts in multiple places even if it is a single state in the public interest.
He said in a written statement that the movement to restore the High Court was started under the leadership of Chattogram lawyer Mozammel Hossain. It reached the office of the then Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha in 2010. Later, it was raised as agenda item No. 1 in the full court meeting. It was decided in the meeting that the Supreme Court would not decide to form circuits of the High Court as per the government's proposal. If the Supreme Court feels that a circuit bench is necessary, then they will make that decision themselves. However, in the current situation of the new Bangladesh, there is a strong demand for a circuit bench.
