Law Minister Md. Asaduzzaman says all politically motivated harassment cases—including murder cases—will be withdrawn, except rape cases.
The minister stated that cases of a political nature will be verified and withdrawn after proper scrutiny. There will be no scope for bias or conditions in this process.
He made the remarks on Tuesday (10 November) while answering supplementary questions in parliament. The second day of the fourth session of the 13th National Parliament began at 4:20 pm under the chairmanship of Speaker Major (Retd.) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram.
MPs Md. Keramat Ali and Zainal Abdin Faruk raised the supplementary questions.
Case withdrawal status
The Law Minister said that after 10 August, final reports have been submitted in most cases related to the July mass uprising. Cases in which charge sheets were filed but recording of evidence has not yet started have been taken into the withdrawal process.
In this way, more than 24,000 cases have already been withdrawn, he said.
He added that cases in which recording of evidence has already begun are also being withdrawn. However, some individuals who consider themselves followers of Begum Khaleda Zia’s ideals have chosen to get the cases disposed of through the courts and obtain acquittal. Because of this, it has not been possible to withdraw all cases.
The minister further said that those against whom cases are still pending can apply in the prescribed form. After verification, steps will be taken to withdraw the cases if they are of a political nature. “Even murder cases will be withdrawn if they are politically motivated. Rape cases, however, will remain outside this process.”
In response to an earlier written question from MPs, the Law Minister had informed the House that 24,013 politically motivated harassment cases have been withdrawn so far.
Judge shortage and other issues
Responding to a supplementary question from MP Md. Keramat Ali about the shortage of judges in Chapainawabganj, the minister said there are currently 394 vacant posts of judges across the country. Necessary steps have been taken to fill these posts, and it is expected that the vacancies and the crisis will be resolved.
He also said that among the applications for case withdrawal received from Chapainawabganj and Rajshahi, the cases related to Chhatra Shibir were withdrawn because they were submitted in the proper form. However, several applications sent on behalf of Jamaat were returned because they were not in the correct format. On this matter, he called Jamaat’s Nayeb-e-Ameer and Secretary General Golam Parwar and requested that the applications be resubmitted in the proper form.
Separately, MP Zainal Abdin Faruk requested that a list of cases filed against him (86 cases) and against other MPs be presented in parliament. In reply, the Law Minister said that cases are not marked as “political” at the time of filing. Therefore, affected political leaders and activists have been asked to apply in the prescribed form. Once applications are received, the cases will be withdrawn through the proper process.