Gulam Rabbani :
The High Court often issues various directions, orders, observations and judgments in the matters of public importance. But these directions of the higher judiciary are not followed in many cases.
Legal experts say that the concerned authorities are constantly showing indifference, inaction and negligence in this regard. They also say that in most cases, it is not possible to implement the directions of the High Court due to politically backed influential people.
The experts also say that to execute the directions of the Supreme Court is mandatory on the part of all while to disregard it would be tantamount to contempt of court. And no matter how influential, those who disobey the directions of the High Court must be brought under the law, added the legal experts. They think that the common people should be more aware over the issues.
Rights organization Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) has filed writ petitions at different times seeking High Court directives on different issues including road accident prevention, hydraulic horns, stopping of river pollution etc. In these cases, instructions also come from the High Court at different times.
HRPB’s President and Supreme Court lawyer Manzill Murshid told The New Nation that they had already filed more than 300 writ petitions as public interest litigation and secured ad-interim orders and directives in about 90 percent cases and clear verdicts in more than 100 cases from the court so far. But we can see that some of the concerned authorities are showing inaction and indifference to implement the court directives in the public interest litigations, added the lawyer.
In many cases, the people who are influential or affluent or those against whom the court verdict goes, obstruct the implementation of the court orders in different ways, the lawyer also opined. Death the road accident has been increasing for a long time due to various mismanagements. Following a public interest litigation, the High Court in 2009 ruled in a verdict to install speed control device in every vehicle plying in the roads, to monitor these devices through the concerned authorities, to install speed control monitoring system in all the traffic headquarters and to take legal action against the violators of the order.
Ministries of Home Affairs, Communications and Public Works and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) were asked to comply with the directives. But the directives were not implemented for though a long period has already been passed.
The High Court has passed orders and directives several times to recover the footpaths in Dhaka. But the scenario didn’t change due to negligence of the concerned authorities. A bench of the High Court on February 11 in 2001 in a judgment directed to keep the footpath of the capital suitable for public use and clean and open for the pedestrians.
But the footpaths are still occupied by the hawkers as the court order has not been implemented. The people are constantly being harassed while passing the footpaths.
The complicated prescription by the physicians is another name for embarrassment. Doctors’ prescriptions are so obscure in many cases that the patients, their relatives and pharmacists are often fell in problem. Finally a writ petition was filed with the High Court seeking its directives over the issue.
Following the petition the High Court on January 9 in 2017 ordered the government to issue circular asking doctors to write prescriptions clearly so that the names of the medicines recommended can be understood.
The government was asked to issue the circular by 30 days. Doctors can write in block letters or print the prescriptions so that there is no hassle in understanding the document, said the HC directions. But it is learned that the doctors are still indifferent in implementing the order of the High Court.
Upon a writ petition the High Court on November 5 in 2017 directed the government to stop the use of pneumatic horns in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country. The authorities were asked to form a surveillance team to keep sound pollution within limit at different places including Gulshan, Dhanmondi and Officers’ Club area in the capital set by the relevant environmental laws and rules.
But the scenarios didn’t change even after the court order. The use of hydraulic horns in vehicles continues as before. The environment is constantly being polluted with loud noises. A Bench of the High Court in 2012 banned the driving of the motorcycles on footpaths and directed the police to take immediate action against the offenders. But as soon as the traffic signals and traffic jams start on the main roads in the capital, then the motorcycles are starting to move freely on the footpath.
The High Court in 2017 ordered Dhaka South City Corporation and Dhaka North City Corporation to stop transporting garbage by uncovered vehicles and asked them to collect and transport garbage within the stipulated time between 10:00pm and 6:00am. Although this order was complied with for some time, its continuity was not maintained.
Barrister Md Abdul Halim, Chairman of the Children’s Charity Bangladesh Foundation (CCB Foundation), filed about 25 public interest litigations with the High Court. The lawyer said the High Court directives are being unheeded due to lack of proper supervision over the directives given by the court.
The court should phase out the procedure and strategy to implement its directives and orders given in PIL, suggested the lawyer.
