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SC Stay on Ruling of Tac Being Illegal

Legally Tac can act, morally should not

Observe intellectuals, legal experts

Emran Hossain
The moral right of the government to move along the Truth and Accountability Commission (Tac) has great weakened by obtaining stay on a High Court (HC) verdict that declared Tac illegal and unconstitutional, say intellectuals and civil society members.
Legal experts have meanwhile observed that though there is no legal bar for Tac to function now, its activities would not be smooth due to the stayed HC order.
"Although there is no legal bar for the Truth Commission to act, I doubt whether anybody would go to the commission after knowing that it has become a lame horse after the High Court judgment," observed eminent jurist Dr M Zahir.
Though uncertain about the fate of the commission and what is going to happen to the people confessing graft, TAC Chairman Justice Habibur Rahman Khan has however said, "Current functioning of the Truth Commission
is right both legally and morally."
On the other hand, Prof Muzaffer Ahmad, convener of Shujan, a civil society initiative to promote good governance, said, "I've told many times from the very beginning that there can't be two laws for the same offence."
He added Tac even violates the country’s constitution.
"The Truth Commission must wind up under the current circumstances. Its functioning is not viable morally at present," said Prof Serajul Islam Choudhury in his reaction to resumption ofTac functioning.
Earlier on November 13, Tac stopped functioning following the HC order but resumed its activities after the Supreme Court stayed the HC order for a month on November 16.
The HC order even didn't come as something new as it was obvious to intellectuals, civil society members and legal experts that Tac was formed ignoring moral and legal restrictions, say eminent citizens and people involved with
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anti-graft campaign.
President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Barrister Shafique Ahmed said, "There should not be two laws governing the same field of activities or offences. And that was the rationale of the High Court."
"The Truth Commission law should not have been formulated," Prof Serajul Islam Choudhury added.
People involved in anti-graft campaigns and judicial system also observe the commission not only failed in achieving its objective but also affected the judicial system, society and anti-graft campaigns severely.
' People normally have lack of faith in our judicial system and function of the Truth Commission would deteriorate it further," said Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Dr Iftekhar Zaman.
"If it was necessary to form a body like Truth Commission, why it was not formed earlier?
Why it was formed when many have already been convicted for the same offence from which people are getting released through the commission now?" he asked.
"The Truth Commission is antithetical to the anticorruption movement. Normally it must have negative effects on society and people when the same offence is treated with different laws," Iftekhar Zaman explained.
He added, "And the process has also made anti-graft drives controversial."
The idea of Tac came to the fore last year as a means to allow offenders an opportunity to admit culpability and deposit their ill-gotten wealth to the state exchequer to be exempted from prosecution.
The idea emerged mainly to prevent without trial high-profile corrupt persons from contesting elections and holding public offices and posts in financial organisations.
"The Truth Commission has deviated from its objective
and there is not even any logic for it to function," said Iftekhar Zaman explaining that high-profile corrupt people did not go to Tac except some mid-level and low-tier government officials.
As many as 497 people have so far applied for making voluntary disclosures as of November 19. The list includes 364 government officials. 49 of their wives and 29 low-profile businessmen.
Of them, Tac completed hearing of 291, who admitted to having ill-gotten wealth worth only about Tk 29.87 crore since September 1.
"Formation of the Truth Commission is again an indication of the judicial process being intervened by the government and to undermine the due judicial process," Zaman added.
Noted jurist Dr Shahdeen Malik said, "If the same type of offence is treated differently under two different laws then the whole legal system suffers from double standard which is never helpful for the system."