Staff Reporter :
Senior jurist and former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Advocate Khandker Mahbub Hossain on Tuesday made an appeal to the Chief Justice to restart the regular activities of the courts across the country maintaining a health guideline.
He said, “I am requesting the Chief Justice to restart the normal activities of the courts immediately considering the sufferings of the lawyers and justice seekers maintaining a health guideline.”
In a press conference, he also said, “Virtual court cannot be continued for an indefinite time. It’s a provision for an emergency period. The lawyers’ community and the justice seekers have fallen into a deep crisis as the judiciary of the country is not running at its normal pace.”
The press conference was arranged in his residence at Basundhara residential area of the city on Tuesday.
The lawyer said, “The courts across the country were declared closed on March 26 to contain the spread of coronavirus. But it brought stagnation in the country’s judicial system. Later the operation of the virtual courts was introduced in the country and the lawyers were instructed to file cases in those courts. But the virtual courts are hearing only the emergency cases.”
“Thousands of cases were on the waiting list for hearing before the coronavirus pandemic and the regular courts disposed of hundreds of cases every day. But the lawyers and justice seekers are facing a tough situation nowadays as those regular activities of the courts have been stopped due to the shutdown,” added the lawyer.
“A frustrating situation has been created in the judiciary due to some limitations of the virtual courts. The bench officers are making the cause-list as they think since there is not serial number of the cases. Some dishonest bench officers are taking the advantage of this opportunity and getting involvement in the corruption,” he said.
Around 60,000 lawyers are practising in the bars across the country. Most of them are sitting idle due to the suspension of the regular court activities across the country including the Appellate and High Court divisions of the Supreme Court since March 26 to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Later virtual version of the courts was introduced on May 11 this year to hear the urgent matters of the justice seekers. The virtual lower courts across the country have granted bail to 44,802 accused so far.
Meanwhile, recently many other lawyers of the Supreme Court and other district courts also urged the Chief Justice to restart the regular activities of the courts instead of the virtual system for the same reasons.
