Staff Reporter :
Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain on Saturday said that judicial persons must utilize the strength of the Judiciary in public interest.
“We must utilize the great strength of the Judiciary in public interest to serve the causes of law and justice. We, in the judicial family, must contribute to a great extent for overall development of the nation,” he said.
The Chief Justice was speaking as the chief guest at a seminar held under the banner of “Standing in public interest litigation : an outline” organized by Supreme Court Online Bulletin (SCOB) editorial committee at Supreme Court auditorium on Saturday.
Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, a senior judge of the High Court Division, presented the keynote speech at the seminar. Justice Muhammad Imman Ali, Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif, Justice Obaidul Hassan, Justice Jahangir Hossain, among others, discussed on the keynote paper.
The Chief Justice also said that public interest litigation (PIL) had come to the aid of the disadvantaged and underprivileged people to protect their human rights.
He also said that the PIL had also assisted the Judiciary to develop an indigenous model of human rights jurisprudence.
“It (PIL) has been greatly appreciated but public adulation must not influence the Judges and personal exaggeration must be avoided. Let us preserve the sanctity and credibility of judicial process,” added the Chief Justice.
In the keynote paper, Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury said, “Public Interest Litigation facilities must have access to justice for the vulnerable and marginalized people. It protects and expands the jurisprudence of fundamental (human) rights and promotes good governance by keeping the government accountable and curbing the excesses of the executive.”
“A genuine public interest litigation espouses the cause of the people and ventilates their grievance(s) for necessary legal/constitutional redress by the High Court division under Article 102 of the Constitution in our jurisdiction.
“In an appropriate case, the High Court division grants the relief(s) sought for and thus remedies the wrongs or injuries done to the members of the public. So the significance of PIL, in the present-day scenario, cannot be whittled down at all,” also read the keynote paper.
During the open discussion, Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif said, “Recently some public interest litigations are being filed for publicity purpose. Some lawyers are filing PILs for focusing themselves in the media. This trend needs to be halted.”
