Perturbed by the unanimous opinion of the amici curiae (friends of the court), the interim administration is now in search of a strategy for facing the aftermath if the High Court (HC) agrees with its amici, who vehemently opposed the trial of the extortion case against Awami League (AL) chief Sheikh Hasina under EPR, as the alleged offence had been committed before the promulgation of EPO.
Senior officials of the ministries of law and home, the attorney general's (AG) office, and the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) are consulting each other to figure out a strong rationale for the government's move that brought graft cases filed after the promulgation of emergency under the ambit of EPR, which had been formulated under the authority of EPO, sources said.
When the HC will resume hearing the case on Monday, the AG's office will make efforts to convince the court about the legal propriety of government's decision to try the case under EPR, although the alleged offence had been committed prior to the promulgation of EPO.
"The attorney general's office will describe the circumstances under which the government was prompted to bring graft cases under EPR," a lawyer working for the ACC told The Daily Star yesterday.
He fears if the HC orders to bring the trial of Hasina's case under general laws, fates of around a hundred cases filed by the ACC under EPR might become uncertain, along with the fates of a large number of other cases which were also brought under EPR following approval from the home ministry.
The HC might deliver the verdict this week and if it goes against the government, the latter will immediately file an appeal with the Appellate Division against the judgement, the sources added.
Then another round of legal fight will begin at the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court where the government will urge the apex court to consider the reality under which it decided to bring the case under EPR, and the consequences of reversing the decision, sources in the AG's office said.
The sources also said the AG's office will venture every legal avenue to win the case since its outcome will also decide the fates of other corruption cases under EPR.
"We will try our best to defend the government's action of brining the graft cases under EPR," a senior official in the AG's office told The Daily Star.
He said it is true if the government cannot win the case, then a severe crisis might raise its head, as trials of all graft cases under EPR are likely to become uncertain under that kind of a scenario.
Officials of the home ministry said if offences committed before the promulgation of EPO are not tried under EPR, then there is no need for the existence of such stringent rules since none has dared to commit similar offences since the promulgation of the state of emergency.
They said they are working to gather required documents to convince the court about the legal propriety of government's move.
Contacted by The Daily Star yesterday Home Secretary Abdul Karim said his ministry will send the documents to HC.
The HC on Thursday sought records to scrutinise the circumstances which had prompted the government to approve a trial of the extortion case against Hasina under EPR.
Azam J Chowdhury, a businessman, on June 13 sued Hasina and former minister Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim of extorting Tk 2.99 crore from him in exchange for awarding him the contract of setting up Siddhirganj Power Plant in Narayanganj. The alleged offence was committed between 1998 and 2000.
The joint forces arrested Hasina on July 16 and later that day a magistrate court sent her to a house designated as a sub-jail in the parliament complex in capital. On the same day, the home ministry approved bringing the case under EPR.
Hasina on July 29 filed a writ petition with the HC, challenging the government's move of bringing the case under EPR, and the HC on July 30 issued a rule on the caretaker government to reply within two weeks as to why its approval for bringing the case under EPR should not be declared illegal.
Legal experts said trying the case under EPR is in clear violation of article 35 of the constitution, which says no person shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence, nor he or she be subjected to a penalty greater than or different from that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of commission of the offence.
The declaration of the state of emergency on January 11 automatically suspended the fundamental rights guaranteed by article 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 and 42 of the constitution, which deal with freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom of thought, conscience and speech, freedom of procession or occupation, and the rights to property.
But article 35, which deals with protection in respect of trials and punishments, still remains in force and any action against the spirit of the article will be tantamount to violation of the constitution, said legal experts
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Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm
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Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
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MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.
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Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
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Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
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Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona
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MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm
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German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:
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