HC bench initiates paper-free proceedings from tomorrow

Opening a new chapter in country's judicial history, a High Court (HC) bench is all set to begin paper free judicial proceedings from tomorrow (January 5), reports BSS.
The bench, designated for looking into the matters related to company law, was scheduled to start the process from January 2, but it delayed as all activities of the Supreme Court (SC) remained suspended on that day in honour of late adviser of the interim government and former attorney general AF Hassan Ariff.
Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed announced a roadmap to modernise the judiciary, reduce harassment of the people, and make the judiciary free from influence.
In line with that roadmap, progress has already been made and new ideas have been generated among the people, including the legal community," senior jurist Barrister Salauddin Dolan told the news agency.
Paper-free judicial proceedings by preparing a platform for submitting all papers online is the beginning of a new chapter, said Supreme Court spokesperson Md Shafikul Islam.
Under the supervision and innovation of the apex court, an online platform for submitting all the papers of that bench has already been prepared, he said.
Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed has declared making all benches paper-free in phases by this year. He expressed the hope that in the long run, paper-free judicial activities will also be conducted in the district courts, Md Shafikul Islam said.
The Chief Justice on September 21 gave a roadmap for the reform of the judiciary. He announced zero tolerance against corruption in judiciary and stressed the need for preparing a roadmap to regain the public confidence through establishing transparency and integrity in the judicial process.
In the roadmap, the Chief Justice announced various short, medium and long-term plans to ensure meaningful reforms in the judiciary of Bangladesh.