Staff Reporter :The Cabinet on Monday approved the draft of ‘The Civil Courts (Amendment) Act, 2015’, raising the existing fiduciary capacity of the Civil Courts of the country.The approval was given at its weekly regular meeting held at Bangladesh Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikhs Hasina in the chair. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hussain Bhuiyan said the fiduciary capacity has been raised following the increase in the value of the disputed lands in the country.According to the draft law, the cases on disputed land having value up to Tk 15 lakh could be filed before Assistant Judge Court which is only Tk 2 lakh in the existing law, the Cabinet Secretary said.Besides, the cases with the value of the disputed land equivalent to Tk 25 lakh could be filed before the court of Senior Assistant Judges that was only Tk 4 lakh. However, the fiduciary capacity of the Joint District Judge will remain unlimited as it is in the existing law, Musharraf Hussain added.The Cabinet Secretary also said, in the case of appellate courts, the fiduciary capacity of District Judge will be increased to Tk 5 crore from Tk 5 lakh in the existing law.After the passage of the draft law by Parliament, he said, the Cabinet hopes the sufferings of people will lessen to a great extent as disposal of most of the cases could be made from the district level.The Cabinet also approved the draft of Bangladesh Coast Guard Act, 2015, keeping a provision for the capital punishment for mutiny in the force.The Cabinet Secretary said the Coast Guard was running under the existing law enacted in 1994 incorporating administrative and organisational structures. There was no provision on legal actions for committing crimes, he said. Musharraf Hussain said clauses have been incorporated in the draft law under which members of the Coast Guard will have to face legal actions for committing crimes or mutiny.
