PM for speedy disposal of cases, ensuring justice to citizens****

Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina has urged the judges to conduct trial process discarding all sorts of fear, intimidation, affection, agony, emotion and maintaining highest neutrality while disposing of the cases so that people get justice. The PM said this, while laying the foundation stone of the proposed multi-storied residential buildings and recreation entertainment centre of the Supreme Court (SC) judges in the city's Kakrail area Saturday, reports BSS. "Getting justice is important for the common man especially the lower and middle income groups of people. So, I am requesting you to keep the general people's confidence in court as the court is their last resort," she said. Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque addressed the function as the guest of honour, while Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Barrister Shafique Ahmed, State Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Advocate Md Qamrul Islam, State Minister for Housing and Public Works Advocate Abdul Mannan Khan and lawmaker Rashed Khan Menon spoke on the occasion. Referring to some 2.0 million cases pending with the SC and other lower courts, the PM requested the judges to take measurers for speedy disposal of the cases saying that fates of millions of people remained involved with the lawsuits. "We appointed 211 assistant judges last year and also have a plan to recruit additional 101 judges," she added. Hasina said, apart from this, her government has also undertaken programmes to construct various infrastructures for the judges to solve their residential problems. Besides, steps have been taken to construct chief judicial magistrate courts in the country's 64 districts and digitize the activities of all courts in phases. Unveiling her government plan to build a welfare state free from hunger and poverty, she called upon all concerned to extend their support to implement the plan. The chief justice urged the government to increase the existing facilities of the judges so that they could put their utmost efforts in discharging their duties smoothly. He also asked the government for doubling the existing number of judges saying that it is impossible to tackle over 1.6 million cases by the existing manpower in the judiciary. He said, "Despite various constraints we have been able to bring down the number of pending cases to 291,000 from the earlier 355,000." Commenting on the independence of judiciary, he said in the name of independence, we (judiciary) have been allowed to swim with our hands and legs tied. He also stressed increasing capacity of other officials related to the judiciary.