Opening a new chapter in the country's judicial history, a High Court bench is all set to begin paper free judicial proceedings from Sunday.
The bench designated to address company law matters was scheduled to begin proceedings on Thursday.
However, the process was delayed as all activities of the Supreme Court (SC) were suspended that day in honor of the late adviser to the interim government and former attorney general, AF Hassan Ariff.
Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed has announced a comprehensive roadmap to modernize the judiciary, reduce public harassment, and ensure a system free from undue influence.
“In line with this roadmap, progress has already been made, and new ideas have emerged among the public and the legal community,” senior jurist Barrister Salauddin Dolan said.
Supreme Court spokesperson Md Shafikul Islam said that paper-free judicial proceedings have marked the beginning of a new chapter.
Under the guidance of the apex court, an online platform for submitting all documents related to the designated bench has already been developed.
Chief Justice Ahmed has committed to making all benches paper-free in phases within this year, with hopes of extending these practices to district courts in the long term, according to Shafikul Islam.
On September 21, the chief justice presented a roadmap for judicial reform, emphasizing zero tolerance for corruption and the need to rebuild public trust through transparency and integrity in judicial processes.
The roadmap outlines several short, medium, and long-term plans to ensure meaningful reforms.
Key initiatives include establishing a separate judicial secretariat, engaging an independent body to appoint apex court judges, and formulating policies for the transfer and posting of subordinate court judges.
Additionally, the chief justice has pledged to implement an e-judiciary system.
Necessary steps are being taken to integrate the judicial processes of the Supreme Court and district courts under a fully electronic system, the SC spokesperson added.
