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Graft Case Against Govt Staff

Provision for prior permission illegal

HC observes change to law undermines ACC's independence

Staff Correspondent
In a landmark verdict, the High Court yesterday declared unconstitutional and void a controversial provision of the Anti-Corruption Commission law that requires the anti-graft body to take government's
2004 despite objections by a parliamentary body.
The HC found the provision inconsistent with people's fundamental rights - equality before law and right to protection of law - guaranteed by the constitution.
permission before suing public servants for corruption.
The Sheikh Hasina administration in November last year introduced this provision through amending the ACC Act of
Article 26 (2) of the constitution asserts that the State shall not make any law inconsistent with any provisions on fundamental rights and any law so made shall, to the extent of such inconsistency, be void. But the government ignored the constitution to introduce the provision in the ACC law.
"The provision is discriminatory since it had given protection to a section of people," said Justice ABM Altaf Hossain in the verdict.
Every citizen is equal in the eyes of law under article 27 of the constitution, but the provision has created discrimination between the citizens of the country, he noted in the judgment that came in response to a petition challenging the provision.
He observed the ACC was an independent body but the provision curtailed its authority to file graft cases against the government officials independently.
ACC chief Badiuzzaman hailed the verdict and said, "We were facing difficulties in carrying out our duties. Now it will make our work easy. If government appeals [against the verdict] we will continue our fight because we have some good arguments."
Transparency International Bangladesh also expressed its satisfaction over the verdict.
Deputy Attorney General Bishwojit Roy said the attorney general's office will decide
on filing an appeal after getting the full text of the verdict.
In his reaction, petitioner's counsel Manzill Murshid told The Daily Star that the ACC could now file cases against government officials on corruption charges and investigate the cases independently.
Manzill moved the petition on behalf of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh.
The same HC bench consisting of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice ABM Altaf Hossain earlier on September 26 last year declared void and unconstitutional the Contempt of Court Act, 2013 that gives some protection to journalists and government officials from contempt charges.
The government placed the ACC law amendment bill in parliament in February 2011, triggering public outcry.
Different development partners, nongovernment organisations and individuals working for good governance expressed their concern, saying the law would cripple the commission.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith himself had opposed the provision. He wrote to the parliamentary standing committee on the law,
justice and parliamentary affairs ministry and requested it not to curtail the anti-graft body's power to sue government officials.
The ACC itself strongly opposed the provision, terming it unconstitutional. In a letter to the parliamentary standing committee in May 2011, the ACC said the proposed change ran counter to article 27 of the constitution.
Amid a huge uproar, the parliamentary body decided to visit some countries to gather experience on best practices of the antigraft body. A seven-member parliamentary delegation visited Australia, Indonesia and South Korea from September 9 to 24 that year.
In its report placed before the parliamentary standing committee, the delegation said the anti-graft bodies in those countries operate independently, and without interventions from other organisations of the state.
The parliamentary body in September last year placed a report in parliament, recommending that the proposal for introducing the discriminatory provision be dropped.
But the government stubbornly introduced the provision in the ACC law on November 10 last year.