The cabinet has approved the draft of a new law that proposes cancelling pensions and other benefits to the former presidents whose tenures have been declared illegal by the High Court.
The draft of the “Presidents Pension, Gratuity and Other Privileges Law 2015” got the nod at the regular weekly meeting of the council of ministers yesterday with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
After the meeting, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters that according to the draft, if any courts declare the assumption of office by any president as illegal and unconstitutional, then he or she will not be eligible for pension.
The draft was first placed before another such meeting in December last year after which the Cabinet Division was asked to update it with this provision.
This law is being made in accordance with a higher court directive that had asked the authorities to turn the necessary ordinances – decreed by the various martial law regimes – into full-blown laws.
The cabinet secretary said that the existing President’s Pension Ordinance of 1979 was amended in 1988, making it effective from then on. But the proposed law would be effective retrospectively going back as far as the country’s birth, he said.
The nominees or descendants of the presidents would be able to claim the pension, the secretary added.
Asked whether or not this draft law would be applicable for former military rulers Ziaur Rahman and HM Ershad – whose regimes have been declared illegal by the HC – and their descendants, Musharraf said: “They do not receive pension as former presidents. They get allowance from the Defence Ministry as former army personnels.”
In reply to another query, the secretary said: “The family of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman never took pension because the existing law was made in 1979. If this draft becomes a law, Bangabandhu’s descendants will be entitled to his pension.”
In a verdict that cancelled the seventh amendment to the constitution, the High Court said in 2010 that just like Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem and Ziaur Rahman, the assumption of office by HM Ershad was
illegal too.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld that verdict in 2011, following which the constitution was amended.
Other proposals
The cabinet yesterday also okayed the draft “Bangladesh Coinage [amendment] Bill 2015” subject to the vetting of the Law Ministry.
Under the proposed amendment, the government will issue metal coins and paper notes of denominations up to Tk5.
The cabinet secretary said that currently, metal coins and paper notes of up to Tk2 are issued by the government and signed by the finance secretary, while notes and metal coins above Tk2 are issued by the Bangladesh Bank and signed by its governor.
When the Bangladesh Coinage Order 1972 came into being, the government accounted for 10.7% of the country’s overall currency circulation. But that has now come down to only 0.83%. This ratio is 1.36% in India, Musharraf said.
The central bank notes and coins would be phased out gradually and the ratio in favour of the government will finally reach 1.5%. Once the proposed amendment comes into effect, the government’s loan from the central bank would come down to Tk790 crore,
he said.
