Frequent blockades organised by the BNP-led 18-Party Alliance have become a cause of suffering for justice-seekers. “I have been coming to court almost every working day since November 27 to learn about the position of my case, which has been pending with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. The case has been on the apex court’s ‘cause list’ for hearing almost every day, but cannot be heard because of the blockade,” a litigant of southern Patuakhali district, Jashim Uddin, told this correspondent on December 5.
According to him, his firm, Ashirbad Engineering, had participated in a tender of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) for the ground-handing work at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. “Despite being the lowest bidder, we are yet to get the work order even though four years have passed after the submission of the bid. As the CAAB has delayed allotting us the work order, we filed a writ petition with the High Court in 2009 seeking its directive. The HC directed the CAAB to provide us the work order in 2010, but the CAAB filed a stay petition with the Supreme Court and the court stayed the HC order for six weeks,” he claimed.
“After pursuing the case for several months and holding consultations with our lawyer, we were able to bring the case for final hearing, but it is now being delayed because of frequent blockades. As the case came to the daily ‘cause list’ for hearing, we came here every working day, risking our lives when the blockade was going on, hoping that the case would finally be heard,” a frustrated Jasim told this correspondent.
Likewise, Abul Kashem, another justice-seeker from Barisal, said he had come to Dhaka on November 23 in connection with litigation, but the hearing is yet to begin as the court could not function because of the blockade.
It has been learnt that more than 15,000 cases have been added to the list of pending cases at the apex court due to hartals and blockades.
The HC?judges could not hold proceedings on 60 days between January 1 and December 5 when the strikes were enforced. The Appellate Division and the High Court Division adjudicate 260 cases on an average every workday, said SC sources. At least 3.2 lakh cases are now pending with the HC?for disposal.
It is feared that the number of pending cases will increase as the Opposition has called another three-day blockade from Saturday. Though the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court is sitting during the blockade, the court cannot function as lawyers are absent. Usually, the benches of the High Court Division do not sit during hartals and blockades, which results in immense suffering to litigants.
To overcome the situation, a Supreme Court lawyer on December 3 filed a petition to the Chief Justice seeking constitution of a High Court bench at the residence of Justice Mirza Hossain Haider to hear three important writ petitions.
Advocate Eunus Ali Akond filed the application as the HC could not sit since the Opposition enforced the first of the ongoing series of blockades on Nov 26. The three writ petitions were filed before the HC earlier for holding the national polls under a caretaker government system and for cancelling the election schedule announced by the EC on November 25.
The same lawyer also submitted a memo to the Chief Justice demanding that a circuit bench be formed on Friday and Saturday. The memo demanded cancellation of the apex court’s winter vacation, which is scheduled to start between mid and the last week of December.
Pro-Awami League lawyers have urged the Chief Justice to to keep the High Court functional, as judges of the HC could not discharge their duties because of the nationwide blockades.
Courtesy of The Independent
