Law
Week
Ruhul Amin new CJ
President Iajuddin Ahmed appointed Mohammad Ruhul Amin as Chief Justice, an official announcement yesterday said. Ruhul Amin, the senior most judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, takes over as Chief Justice on March 1. He replaces Justice Syed JR Mudassir Husain who retires on February 28. -Unb, Dhaka, February 26.
New anti-terror law soon for quick trial
The government is going to promulgate an anti-terrorism ordinance to hold trial for criminal offences within six months through special tribunals. The law ministry has already drafted the Anti-Terrorism Ordinance 2007 that defines terrorists, terrorist acts, terrorist organisations and prescribes punishments including death sentence and life imprisonment. The government will temporarily forfeit wealth of criminals charged with non-bailable offences, sources said quoting from the draft ordinance. The forfeiture will continue in case of their conviction by court. Those who will finance terrorist groups will also be tried under the ordinance. The minimum punishment under it will be a five-year jail term. The draft will be finalised at a high level meeting tomorrow with Law Adviser Mainul Hosein in the chair. The ordinance also proposes to form a three-member advisory board to review appeals of persons arrested under the ordinance. Two sitting judges of the Supreme Court and one joint secretary-level government official will comprise the advisory board, and the government will appoint one of them as its chairman. -The Daily Star, February 27.
Govt finally cancels unsolicited project
The government officially cancelled the unsolicited and Hawa Bhaban-backed bid for Meghnaghat phase three 450 megawatt power project that the alliance government had tried to award to an unknown US-Irish joint venture, Cadogan Manning (CMG). On February 19, the power ministry asked the Power Cell to take up measures for an open tender for this power project under the private sector power generation policy. The ministry also asked the Power Cell to inform Cadogan Manning of the government decision to cancel the unsolicited bid. The cell was negotiating with this company since 2004. "The Hawa Bhaban's insistence to have this unsolicited deal by any means basically wasted a lot of time. If the country floated an open tender, this project would have been on the way to implementation by now," said a power ministry source. Sources said that a large business group involved in real estates headed by a businessman who has been named in the list of 50 corruption suspects was holding the main stake in the Cadogan Manning proposal that grossly violated the country's power policy and other related government rules. -The Daily Star, February 28.
Rajuk staff arrested for cheque forgery
A Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) team arrested three Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) officials for their alleged involvement in cheque forgery. Rab sources said the arrestees-- Rajuk Director (finance and accounts) Md Humayun Khan, Deputy Director (finance and accounts) and Md Hasan, an officer of the administration section-- drew Tk 16,43,035 against Tk 87,035 forging 19 cheques in 2005. According to Rab sources, 14 out of the 19 cheques were found fake. Rajuk Secretary Ataul Haque Mollah filed a case in this connection with Motijheel Police Station in 2005. Following a home ministry instruction, Rab-3 special team on February 13 arrested a Rajuk cashier, Harun-ur Rashid, and two accounts assistants-- Sana Ullah and Babul Paul. Later Harun gave a confessional statement based on which the Rab arrested the three Rajuk officials. -The Daily Star, March1.
Confiscating Properties
ACC list of 15 graft suspects sent to govt
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) sent a list of 15 graft suspects to the Cabinet Division and home ministry to initiate the process of confiscating their properties. They failed to submit wealth statements to the ACC in time. "AS per the emergency power rules, the government will seek permission from magistrates to freeze properties of corruption suspects who have failed to submit wealth statements. The government will now specify the authorities which will initiate this process," ACC Secretary Delwar Hossain told The Daily Star. The 15 are on the list of 50 graft suspects whom the ACC had asked to submit wealth statements within 72 hours. They include Tarique Rahman's business partner Giasuddin Al-Mamun, former prime minister Khaleda Zia's political secretary Harris Chowdhury, Awami League (AL) leader Abul Hasnat Abdullah, former AL state minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, former AL whip Mostafa Rashidi Suja, former AL MPs Shamim Osman, Akhteruzzaman Chowdhury Babu, Haji Selim, Mockbul Hossain, Mirza Azam and Joynal Hazari, Jubo League Chairman Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Munshiganj AL leader Mohiuddin Ahmed, Bashundhara Group chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan (Shah Alam) and former National Board of Revenue (NBR) member Jahurul Haque. -The Daily Star, March 1.
Chief justice retires with controversy at heels
With a number of controversies surrounding him, Chief Justice Syed JR Mudassir Husain retired without receiving a traditional farewell from the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA). A group of pro-BNP and pro-Jamaat-e-Islami lawyers, government law officers including the attorney general, and the High Court (HC) and Supreme Court (SC) judges, however, accorded a farewell to Mudassir. Five HC judges did not attend the farewell function held at the Chief Justice's Courtroom. This was for the second time that the SCBA refrained from according farewell to a retiring chief justice. Earlier in 1989, the highest ranking association of the country's lawyers refrained from giving farewell to the then chief justice AFM Munim. SCBA President barrister Amir-Ul Islam said, "When we discussed among ourselves the issue of giving [Mudassir Husain] the farewell, senior lawyers said they did not find any reason to laud him at the farewell function. So, why give him a farewell?" Barrister Amir rather levelled charges against the outgoing chief justice, saying, "In the last five years, the chief justice did not even attempt to stop the [alliance government's] bid to politicise the judiciary. -The Daily Star, March1.
Corresponding with the Law Desk
Please send your mails, queries, and opinions to: Law Desk, The Daily Star 19 Karwan Bazar, Dhaka-1215; telephone 8124944,8124955,fax 8125155; email: dslawdesk@yahoo.co.uk,lawdesk@thedailystar.net
