Thousands of litigants and justice seekers across Bangladesh are suffering as more than 3.1 million cases remain pending with the subordinate courts across the country.
Addressing the issue, the authorities concerned have announced a number of initiatives over the years, in an effort to reduce the courtroom backlogs. Yet, a large number of cases continues to pile up every year on top of the existing ones, increasing the total volume of pending cases.
Poor investigation by police, too many adjournments at courts, witnesses not showing up for hearing and testimony, and poor performance by prosecutors are among the leading causes for courtroom backlogs, a study has found.
According to the latest report, there were 3,172,043 cases pending in the subordinate courts and tribunals across Bangladesh, where civil cases are 1,365,678 and criminal cases are 1,806,365.
Given the difficult nature of the situation, the High Court's Monitoring Committee for Subordinate Courts and Tribunals, which oversees the backlog of cases, recommended measures to overcome the situation.
Although, there were five justices in the Backlog of Pending Cases Monitoring Committee (Subordinate Courts and Tribunals), only two of them are currently discharging their duties.
According to the Supreme Court annual report 2018, which was released in 2019, the committee is comprised of Justice Md Nuruzzaman, Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury, Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, Justice M Enayetur Rahim, and Justice Md Shawkat Hossain.
Among them, Justice Md Nuruzzaman was appointed to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on October 9, 2018; Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury has been off-duty since August 22, 2019, because of a pending investigation against her over allegations of corruption; Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Md Shawkat Hossain retired from the High Court division on January 8 and 9 this year, according to the Supreme Court administration.
Against this backdrop, Justice M Enayetur Rahim is the only one left in the committee at this time.
When asked about the last time the committee sat for a meeting, Muhammad Saifur Rahman, special officer and spokesperson for the Supreme Court failed to confirm.
Expressing disappointment over the situation, Supreme Court Bar Association's former secretary Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon told Dhaka Tribune that the committee is not functioning as the Supreme Court reins its control over the subordinate courts, and everything in the country's judiciary is being controlled by the Ministry of Law.
Advocate AM Aminuddin, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, said the chief justice formed three High Court benches for disposing the backlogged cases on a priority basis.
When asked about the activities of the Backlog of Pending Cases Monitoring Committee, he declined to make any comment.
Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua demanded reconstitution of all the important committees to reduce the backlog of cases.
"In comparison to other countries, there is a shortage of judges and courts in Bangladesh when taking into account the staggering number of pending cases. For the sake of delivering justice, efforts must be made to appoint more judges and constitute courts,” he opined.