Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique has said the people who come to the court for justice are becoming destitute due to the corruption of court officials and demand for high fees by many lawyers.
He said, "People from different parts of the country come to the High Court acknowledging the hardships only to get justice. Lawyers often do not treat the litigants well if their (lawyers) demand is not met. Most lawyers are good, but many of them misbehave with their clients for money."
"When justice seekers come to the court premises, they have to pay different types of fees. We all know what types of fees are those. Gradually, these people become destitute," he added.
He was speaking as the chief guest at an 'awareness workshop' organized for the bench officers, bench readers and section supers in order to improve the quality of government legal aid activities in the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee and rights organization Manusher Jonno Foundation arranged the program on Wednesday at the judges' lounge of the Supreme Court.
Appellate Division judges--Justice Obaidul Hassan, Justice Borhanuddin and Justice Krishna Debnath, and Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee Chairman Justice Jahangir Hossain, among others, addressed the program.
The Chief Justice also said, "The salary the government gives us comes from the tax money of all these people. These people come to us, they stand on the dock of the court and want justice. But to get justice, they become utterly destitute. It will be our failure if we cannot provide proper service to these justice-seeking people."
"If it comes to my notice that anyone is trying to take advantage of the plight of these poor people, I will not tolerate it in any way. I have already formed a committee after taking the charge of Chief Justice. The court is the last resort of the common people. We will not tolerate any kind of irregularity here. I will not hesitate to take any drastic step in this regard."
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