Application of law must be equitable to be respected

No notion about law being only on the side of the ruling establishment should be nurtured or nourished by any powerful political quarters. There are reasons to note this. A good many number of cases started earlier against members of the present ruling party or its supporters in recent years have been withdrawn. Even some convicted criminals including ones for murders and serving sentences were pardoned by the President and they are, as the media reports suggested, tied closely to the ruling party. But cases were withdrawn from only one or two well known individuals in opposition politics and that, too, probably only to stave off criticism that government only pardons its own camp followers. Voices have also heard in recent times about the judiciary, notably the higher judiciary, being not free from the influence of the government. That should in no way be the case for the sake of upholding rule of law and dispensing justice property. However, the critics point out that a number of the outstandingly prominent cases sent recently to the High Court and the Supreme Court were be decided in favour of the government's stand on the issues. In all of these cases and more, the verdicts by the highest courts were reported, quoting the statements of such critics, to have been delivered suiting the government's position amply well. The outcome in one or two such cases could be coincidental but not in all of them, they maintain. If the view among the people on some perceived or real grounds gains currency about the judiciary not being truly and effectively independent, that will erode their faith in the legal and judicial systems. This will otherwise encourage law breaking and anarchic trends. At a time when the government remains under criticism also for its beating down signs of political dissent with hard application of police power, the independence of the judiciary is of vital importance for institutionalising democracy. Democracy is all about live and let live. It is anything but democracy, even if a party is elected to power, if it thinks and behaves later on that all truths and credits are on its side and its bounden duties are to only marginalize and smash its political opponents to dust. Enayet Karim Rd. No 4, Dhanmondi RA, Dhaka. Our dying rivers! Most national dailies, over the last few days have been reporting about the shrinking of our river boundaries, and the related encroachment of river banks. This has now become a ripe and ready source of owning free land, by people with muscle and influence! This sad episode has the beginning from the reckless withdrawing of water upstream by India. Although the matter is under dispute, the speed at which international arbitration and its toothless implementation will take place, may well change the course of the rivers in Bangladesh; and they will all end up flowing into the sea, of what water is left, from India, particularly the Ganges coming from north-west India. Bangladesh will be then a dry land in the areas were once the Ganges used to flow! All that land will be then up for grabs! The issue has been rightly raised in the editorial of a national English daily on April 13, and hopefully our government wakes up to the realities! But will they? Meanwhile, we are now officially demarcating the river's boundaries, with 'boundary pillars' to protect it from being illegally owned by 'land sharks' that abound in Bangladesh! Unfortunately in their wisdom(?) the 'foreshore' has been excluded; in contradiction to the court's ruling on the matter! Was this really unfortunate; or factually fortunate for the officials placing the pillars, whose decision to exclude the 'foreshore' may have the result of 'behind doors lubricated understanding' with prospective land grabbers? Will our elected representatives look into this clever scam that is happening under their nose? Or, is it that the lobby of the prospective land grabbers are more informed and influential unlike the public who are faceless and can only scribble these lines; that are hardly ever noticed; let aside being acted upon! A powerless watcher Dhaka.