Anybody who believes in proper functioning of the democratic Constitution will find no reason for confrontation as power of each organ is well-defined. It needs to be understood that the whole system of democratic government depends for its success on checks and balances as provided by the Constitution.
But the judiciary enjoys a very sacred position for safeguarding the constitutional arrangement of checks and balances. In this regard preeminence of the judiciary is to be upheld. A constitutional government has to accept the limits on its power however ambitious it is. Unlimited power of a government is what makes it autocratic and irresponsible. Soon it is infected with corrupting disease of power.
The greed and glamour of power soon becomes a fatal attraction for men in power. So all cooperation and harmony among the organs of the government must have the main objective of keeping the people free from fear in the forefront. They must be sure in the knowledge that they have the judiciary to keep in check any vile political design. Their constitutional rights are meaningless if the judiciary is in want of courage to be strong and independent. The people have invested their hope and trust in the judiciary and not even in their political leaders.
It is most unfortunate that the judiciary risked it’s very existence soon after we achieved Bangladesh as a much desired democratic country. The whole democratic Constitution was turned upside down to form a revolutionary government with unrestrained power.
Subsequently also confrontational politics of the politicians made inevitable for the army to intervene and the country was placed under martial law more than once. So the imperative need of protecting the Constitution must be realised by the politicians with all the seriousness.
The courts have to do justice and the government has to respect the Constitution and the rule of law.
The legitimacy of a democratic government comes from free and fair election. No political government is to be unsure of its own legitimacy and feel safe.
False cases are piling up and the courts are blamed for slow disposal. Justice is not a hasty matter. Most cases are political in nature for the purpose of politics. Doing politics by filing tons of cases is mainly responsible for jamming of the courts. The answer is not to have more judges. We need competent judges and fewer cases. The judiciary must discourage political cases. Using police cases are not politics, abuse of police power.
To discourage false and vexatious cases the issues of anticipatory bail and also bail after arrest should be compassionately addressed. Most false cases filed finding it easy to keep persons in jail without bail. The presumption of innocence must receive due importance to save people from losing their freedoms most helplessly in the hands of the police. We must understand the pressure on the politicised police.
The judiciary cannot have political ambitions but it if falters its impact can be fatal for the nation. The danger uncertainty over the coming general election now looming large before the nation resulted from the mistake of deciding a political issue like the process of holding general election. Nowhere under the parliamentary system the election of the parliament takes place without dissolving the parliament.
By a majority of one, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court decided that the general election has to be held under an elected government. Taking advantage of the judgement the Constitution was changed in haste to hold the general election under the sitting party government. It cannot be a situation conducive to peaceful election.
We are most unlucky for not having leaders with the vision of institution builders for good governance. The government can never be a one-man affair. Either you have of a government of democratic institutions or you have a government dominated by bureaucrats. Enjoying glamour and privileges of power is an easy addiction but to carry the burden of national responsibility calls for integrity and sacrifice.
We hope and pray that under the leadership of the new Chief Justice the judiciary will be able to sow togetherness and unity to stay the course. By nature politics is tricky but justice has to be fair and we do not wish a judge to be trapped by politics.
