Litigants suffer over case backlog
Lawyers suggest that the government should increase the number of judges and officials in the HC. Otherwise, the number of pending cases will keep rising.
It has been 18 years, but Zabiul Islam is still waiting for justice.
His case, filed over a family dispute, has been pending at a Dhaka Court since 2001.
In 2003, he got a judgment in his favor from the lower court. But the High Court (HC) put a stay order on it the same year based on an appeal by the defendant.
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Since then, Zabiul has been coming to the HC for the withdrawal of the stay order.
Around 3.6 million cases are pending at different courts across the country, resulting in suffering for litigants like him.
Another plaintiff, Harun Ur Rashid, a resident of Khulna, has also been waiting for the disposal of a money-related case in the HC since 2004.
Litigants have to wait a long time for justice because of prolonged court cases.
“Litigants suffer over the disposal of most cases because of the complicated process of the judicial system,” Supreme Court Advocate Towfiqul Islam Mamum told The Business Standard.
If any party is not happy with a lower court order or decision, they file a petition at the upper court and try to get a stay order against their opponent. This is another reason for the lengthy proceeding, he added.
“Due to the shortage of benches, it is not possible to resolve pending cases in due time. The number of pending cases is increasing day by day because of the growing population,” said another law practitioner at the HC Advocate Taherul Islam Tawhid.
“Changing of judges for a case in the High Court is another reason for the delay in disposing of cases. Besides, the number of political cases has also increased in the last 10 years,” he added.
Lawyers suggest that the government should increase the number of judges and officials in the HC. Otherwise, the number of pending cases will keep rising.
Experts say that the authorities concerned should take special measures to set up enough courts across the country for dealing with pending cases in the greater interest of litigants.
A total of 359,8263 cases are pending at different courts till June 30 this year
A total of 21,410 cases are pending at the Appellate Division while 488,562 cases are pending at the High Court.
A total of 3,088,291 cases are currently pending in lower courts across the country.
From April 1 to June 30 this year, 328,924 cases were disposed of by the courts, and a total of 336,158 cases were filed in this same period.
