BSS, Chittagong :
Two Chittagong Judges’ Courts have been reeling under huge case backlog for two months as the judges of the two main courts went into retirement.
The Court sources said the Chittagong Metropolitan Session Judge Court (CMSJC) and the Chittagong District and Session Judge Court (CDSJC) have now nearly 1.8 lakh cases under disposal. The Court sources said the judge of CMSJC SM Mujibur Rahman got retired from his service on July 10 while the judge of CDSJC Quddus Meah on June 11.
With the retirement of the judges of the two main courts, a total of one lakh 70 thousand 96 cases have been pending for months in these two courts, resulting in immense suffering to the litigants. Four courts among 21 under CMSJC have no judges while nine courts among 51 under CDSJC are now limping without judges, court sources said.
CMSJC has now 1739 ready cases for trial but those cannot be sent to different trial courts for want of judge.
Chittagong Metropolitan Public Prosecutor (PP) Mohammad Fakhruddin Chowdhury said CMSJC can take some specific cases into cognizance but it is not possible to deliver verdict with an acting judge. “As a result, the cases cannot be prepared for trial and the acting judge, though carries out his routine work, cannot deliver any specific order for sending the cases in different trial courts”, Fakhruddin added.
Demanding immediate appointment of a regular judge for CDSJC, Advocate Abul Hashem, PP of the court, said that they cannot proceed with the trial of many important cases for want of a full-pledged judge.
General Secretary of the Chittagong District Bar Association Advocate Abdur Rashid said the association has met the law minister in May last for resolving the problem but any change is yet to come.
Meanwhile, registrar of the International Crimes Tribunal AKM Nasiruddin Mahmud has been appointed as the judge of CDSJC and Satkhira District Judge Obaidus Subhan for CMSJC but the two newly appointed judges are yet to take over their new assignment, the court sources claimed.
