UNB, Dhaka :
The government has decided to extend the tenure of the Speedy Trial Act by another five years, which was scheduled to expire on April 7 this year.
The cabinet in its regular weekly meeting on Monday approved the draft of ‘The Law and Order Disruption (Speedy Trial) (Amendment) Bill, 2014’. Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the meeting held at Bangladesh Secretariat. Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan briefed reporters after the meeting. The law was first enacted for two years in 2002 during the BNP-Jamaat rule to contain crimes and hold speedy trial. Later, the law was amended in 2004, 2006 and 2012 to extend its tenure. The tenure of the existing law will expire on April 7, 2014. Musharraf said that the Home Ministry thought that the law is an effective tool to curb crimes and hold the trial. He also mentioned that the Home Ministry said in its proposal that the law has won the test of time and so the duration of the law should be extended in public interest.
As per the proposed amendment, the speedy trial law will remain in force till April 7, 2019 retaining the provision of maximum five years and minimum two years of imprisonment for major crimes.
The Cabinet Secretary said the law was framed to contain, investigate and hold trial of some major crimes including extortion, damaging vehicles, creation of barriers to the movement of vehicles, buying and selling of tender documents, mugging, robbery, destruction of movable and immovable property, and creating panic.
He said, the cabinet also gave nod to another two proposals for signing of memorandum of association (MoA) for establishment of the BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate, and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the Establishment of the BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Commission and BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Observatory. The MoA and MoU will be inked during the upcoming BIMSTEC Summit slated for March 1-4 in the Myanmar capital, Nay Pyi Daw. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to join the summit along with other heads of state and government. From the instruments, member states of the regional economic grouping including Bangladesh will greatly benefit, Musharraf added.
