The litigation game
THE government's move of withdrawing political cases filed against Awami League leaders during the period of both BNP-Jamaat government and the caretaker government of Fakhruddin Ahmed, has given raise to lot of questions regarding its legality and transparency.
The government constituted an inter-ministerial review committee headed by Quamrul Islam, the state minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs, for considering on priority basis the recommendations of withdrawal of political cases, and thereby moved to exonerate the individuals involved in them.
Since its formation on February 17, the national review committee has so far endorsed recommendations for withdrawal of 243 cases, all filed against ruling AL leaders and activists, labeling them as politically motivated ones.
Amidst criticism from different quarters for recommending withdrawal of cases against the ruling party leaders only, the state minister for law argued that the national review committee had not received any recommendation for withdrawal of any case filed against the opposition leaders.
According to a newspaper report, the national review committee has so far received recommendations from district committees for withdrawal of 2,584 cases filed against AL leaders and activists during the tenures of BNP-led four-party alliance government and caretaker government of Fakhruddin Ahmed.
The first meeting of the national review committee held on June 10 reviewed 113 cases and recommended withdrawal of 62 cases, including 12 cases filed against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Of these 62 cases, 36 were filed under the penal code and 26 under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act. Of the 12 cases against Sheikh Hasina, 10 were filed by the ACC and two by others, including the Paltan killing case filed by Jamaat-e-Islami.
Shortly after assuming power through the landslide victory of December 29 election, the AL-led Grand Alliance government invited applications from the victims of the politically-motivated cases filed to harass the political leaders and activists during the tenure of BNP-led four-party alliance government and army-backed caretaker government.
Thousands of political leaders and activists of different political parties, who had become victim of political cases, applied for withdrawal of their cases. BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and her two sons also filed applications on April 30 seeking withdrawal of all 20 cases lodged against them during the tenure of army-backed caretaker government.
Unfortunately, the government has not yet considered a single case filed against BNP and Jamaat leaders who were also the victims of political cases during the period of emergency rule. It has been learnt that the government is now considering withdrawal of the Niko corruption case filed against Sheikh Hasina and Kaleda Zia.
The filing of false or politically motivated cases by the government designed to harass its political opponents and withdrawal of cases filed against its leaders during the previous regime is the litigation game indulged by the governments in Bangladesh. The AL-led alliance government is also not an exception to it.
The process of withdrawing the political cases has not only given rise to questions, but has also inclined many to doubt that all of these individuals against whom cases were filed are innocent of the charges brought against them. Indeed, a significant number of these individuals have been convicted of corruption and tax evasion charges.
The whole exercise of withdrawal, starting from six-member district committee headed by DC to 10-member national committee at the apex, is politically motivated and lacks transparency. The national review committee has so far received 2,584 cases duly recommended by the district committees, which include many cases relating to serious offences like murder, rape, smuggling, and acid violence.
Anyone who has had cause to observe the consequences of withdrawal of political cases, finds its correlation with the criminalisation of politics. The people of this country have observed in the past that hundreds of criminals were let out by the government under political advisability while its opponents were implicated in false criminal cases.
The withdrawal of cases by the government, terming them as politically motivated ones, is inconsistent with the judicial process and also repugnant to the rule of law. Withdrawal of cases on a wide scale with the change of every government has set a bad precedent in Bangladesh. Indulgence in the litigation game should be stopped in order to establish the rule of law in every sphere of our lives.
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