Law Week
Court accepts case against seven-year old girl
A seven-year-old stood in the dock at a Dhaka court yesterday, accused of committing theft and assaulting another child of her age. Her mother and two brothers, co-accused in the case, were also in the dock. The court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Afroza Sheuly took into cognisance the charges against the girl, Sampa, her mother Aniccha Begum and brothers Jasim and Wasim. And it granted them bail. Lawyers and litigants on the court premises were shocked to see a child accused in a criminal case. Asked about the case, President of Dhaka Bar Association Borhan Uddin said, “A girl of seven cannot be accused of criminal offence, and she cannot be brought under trial as per provisions of the Penal Code … The charges against a seven-year-old cannot be punishable.” Sampa is a student of class one at Chhoto Tasulla Government Primary School at Nawabganj in Dhaka district. She along with the other accused surrendered to the court yesterday in response to an earlier court order. According to the prosecution, on August 1 Sampa and eight-year-old Akash, son of Mohammad Aziz, while bathing in a pond picked a quarrel. At one stage, the girl hit Akash in the eye, causing a minor injury. This led to clashes between the two families. Aziz filed the case with the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court, Dhaka, on August 29. And the court issued summons asking the four to appear before it on October 7. Sampa's father Abdur Rahman told this correspondent that his neighbour Aziz filed the case concealing the actual age of his daughter, who is now seven. But the complainant mentioned that she is 12, he added. Rahman broke down in tears, saying, the case was filed only to harass his family members. -The Daily Star, September 7.
Destiny officials granted bail
A Dhaka court yesterday granted bail to 16 officials of Destiny Group till submission of probe reports in two money laundering cases. Earlier on August 6, another Dhaka court had granted bail to five high-ups of the same company including its managing director. After hearing both the prosecution and the defence for over two hours, Metropolitan Magistrate Harun-or-Rashid passed the order upon a bond of Tk 50,000 each with two guarantors. During the hearing, Special Public Prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kajol told the court that a magistrate has no jurisdiction to hear any petition. “The magistrate has violated the provisions of Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2009 by granting the accused bail in the cases,” Kajol claimed while talking to The Daily Star following the court's order. “Only judge of a special judge's court can hear any petition submitted by both the prosecution and the defence. A metropolitan magistrate is not a special judge”, he added. -The Daily Star, Sept, 6.
'Constitution can resolve crisis'
Eminent jurist Dr Kamal Hossain said yesterday the constitution contains provisions that can resolve the ongoing crisis between parliament and the judiciary, and it does not need amending the constitution. If there is any allegation against a High Court judge, it can be referred to the Supreme Judicial Council for trial, he told journalists at his law chamber in the capital. "I will request the Speaker and others concerned to think over the matter [crisis]. Opinions from different organs of the state, and from legal experts may be solicited to settle the crisis within the purview of law without further debate,” said Dr Kamal. The crisis surfaced again as a number of ruling alliance lawmakers on Tuesday accused in parliament two HC judges of violating the constitution and demanded that they be removed for delivering a controversial judgment on the Speaker's June 18 ruling. -The Daily Star. Sept, 5.
Govt okays Ordinance
The cabinet yesterday finally approved the draft of Grameen Bank Amendment Act 2012 to turn the ordinance into a law in the current session of parliament. The approval came 11 days after President Zillur Rahman promulgated an ordinance amending the Grameen Bank Ordinance, 1983. Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan briefed newsmen after the meeting. According to the proposed amendments, the chairman of Grameen Bank in consultation with the board of directors will form a selection committee to prepare a three-member panel for appointing a managing director of the bank, he said. The board, with an approval from the Bangladesh Bank, will appoint the MD from the panel, he added. The cabinet secretary said Finance Minister AMA Muhith had apprised the cabinet of the progress in appointing a MD for the bank. On August 23, the government issued a gazette notification to constitute a search committee for choosing a MD for the bank. Frustrated at the government's action, Noble laureate and former MD of Grameen Bank Prof Muhammad Yunus described 'August 23' as a black day. Earlier on August 2, the cabinet approved in principle the draft of the Grameen Bank Ordinance. -The Daily Star, September, 4.
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