Law
Week
District Ministers
SC rejects govt plea for stay on HC verdict
The Supreme Court turned down the government plea for staying the operation of a High Court verdict that declared "illegal and unconstitutional" the provision of minister-in-charge for districts. Rejecting the petition moved by Additional Attorney General Barrister Fida M Kamal, chamber judge Amirul Kabir Chowdhury asked him to file a regular leave-to-appeal application seeking to overturn the HC rulings. The High Court delivered the judgment upon a writ petition filed by former minister and Jatiya Party lawmaker Anwar Hossain Manju. --UNB, Dhaka, May 1.
Bangabandhu Murder Case
HC bench skips passing order
A High Court bench declined to pass any order in a writ petition filed challenging the government's inaction in arresting the convicted accused in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman murder case. Advocate Manzil Murshid, a Supreme Court lawyer, filed the writ petition challenging the inaction of the government with an appeal to direct the government to bring back home the six convicted accused now staying abroad. Advocate Manzil made the petition 'not-press' in that bench comprising Justice Awlad Ali and Justice Zinat Ara. He told that he could further submit the petition before another bench of the High Court. "After hearing the petition, the High Court bench declined to pass any order in the case on the plea that an appeal regarding the case has been pending in the Appellate Division. That is why I made the petition 'not-press' in that bench. I will mention the matter in another bench," he said.--BD News, May 3.
Writ petition filed against use of Jamaat's poll symbol
A writ petition has been filed challenging the validity of using scales as an election symbol as they are the facsimile of the Supreme Court (SC) emblem that stands for justice. After hearing the petition, a division bench of the High Court (HC) fixed for ruling on the matter. Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh uses scales as its election symbol. The petitioners challenged the operation of rule 9 (1) of the Conduct of Election Rules 1972 by which the Election Commission (EC) had included scales as one of the election symbols. Five lawyers of the SC-- Moksadul Islam, SM Fazlul Hoque, Asaduzzaman Siddique, Shamsul Alam and Mustafa Zaman Islam-- filed the petition as public interest litigation (PIL). Secretaries of the law, justice and parliamentary affairs ministry and of the EC have been made respondents in the case. At preliminary hearing, Manzil Murshid, counsel for the petitioners, argued that scales (daripalla) have been used as the monogram of the SC since the establishment of East Bengal High Court in 1947. --The Daily Star, May 3.
Police suspect arson at B Chy's house
The police said they believe the fire at the Baridhara residence of former president AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury was not an accident, rather an incident of arson. It is however still not clear whether anyone from inside or outside the house set the fire, said sources close to the four-member police team probing the incident. Members of the probe committee interrogated the five policemen, who guard the house, and people of the neighbourhood yesterday evening. Details about the interrogation could not be learnt. The police headquarters formed the committee on the day of the incident with Deputy Inspector General (Criminal Investigation Department) Zabed Patwari at the helm. The other members are Deputy Commissioner (DC) Shahidul Islam of Detective Branch, DC (North) Obaidur Rahman and CID Special Superintendent Ruhul Amin. The committee earlier visited the house Monday evening and yesterday morning and gathered evidence. "We've sent the evidence to the CID for examination," DC Obaidur Rahman told The Daily Star. It will submit its reports by May 7. --The Daily Star, May 3.
Amini asked to appear in court
A Dhaka court directed lawmaker Maulana Fazlul Haque Amini, chairman of a faction of Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ), to appear before it on June 11 in connection with threatening Proshika President Qazi Faruque Ahmed. Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Shafique Anwar also directed the Proshika president, complainant of the case, to appear before it on that day as it will close cross-examination of witnesses. The court gave the direction as none of them appeared before the court yesterday. Earlier on April 4, the same court directed the two to appear before it. Faruque's defence lawyers submitted a petition seeking time as their client went abroad for treatment while Amini's lawyers did not submit any petition as to why their client failed to appear before the court. Earlier, the court had recorded statements of seven witnesses since the charges were framed against Amini on January 11, 2001. --The Daily Star, May 3.
Draft voter list shows 22pc rise in number
The Election Commission (EC) published the draft voter list, enlisting a total number of 9,13,14,592 voters, but the lists were not posted at many selected places for public viewing. The EC failed to mention the figures of male and female voters, and the publishing date of the final list as acute indiscipline in coordinating the total process was noticed. The total increase of voters on the new list is around 1.65 crore, about 22 per cent higher than the number on the list prepared in 2000, which seemed to many quarters very unusual. In the existing roll, 57.53 per cent of the then 13 crore population--7.48 crore--was registered as voters, while the new draft list has over 65 per cent of around 14 crore present population as voters. --The Daily Star, May 04, 2006
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