Dhaka: The High Court on Monday issued a rule asking why the Village Court Act, 2006, which empowers union parishad chairmen and members to exercise judicial powers, should not be declared null and void. A High Court bench comprising Justice Ahmed Sohel and Justice Fatema Anwar passed the order after hearing a writ petition challenging the law's constitutionality. The court directed the law secretary and other concerned respondents to submit their replies within four weeks.
According to United News of Bangladesh, Advocate Ishrat Hasan represented the petitioner, who filed the writ on February 15 seeking annulment of the act as unconstitutional. The petition argues that granting judicial powers to politically affiliated elected representatives violates Article 22 of the Constitution, which ensures separation of the judiciary from the executive. It also cites Article 35(3), which guarantees the right to be tried by an independent and impartial court.
The petitioner claims that village courts lack trained judges, do not fully apply the Evidence Act, 1872 and procedural laws, and restrict lawyer participation, undermining judicial independence and fair trial guarantees. The writ further contends that the geographically separate justice mechanism violates citizens' rights to equality before the law and equal protection as guaranteed under Articles 27 and 31 of the Constitution.
The petition refers to Articles 7, 22, 27, 31, 33, 35, 109, and 116A, seeking a rule to declare the Village Court Act, 2006, unconstitutional.