Bringing amendment to eight sections and incorporating two new sections, the draft of the Village Court (Amendment) Law is likely to be placed before the regular Cabinet meeting on Monday.
In the amended law, the deadline of concluding trial in the Village Courts would be reduced to 15 days from existing 30 days while the amount of penalties would be increased at Tk 3 lakh from the existing Tk 75,000, according to the draft law.
The Local Government Division (LGD) under Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Ministry has been sent to the Cabinet Division for placing the draft in the meeting.
According to the LGD letter sent to the Cabinet Division, the draft law was given final approval in the Cabinet meeting held on October 23, 2023. But, the draft couldn be placed in the last Jatiya Sangsad Session of the 11th National Parliament last year.
As a result, the draft law couldn be passed in the JS and waiting for placing before the new Cabinet as the approval of new Cabinet is required to place the draft law in the new Sangsad.
The village court system is kind of a general mutual system that can be disposed at the union parishad level under the leadership of the local government representatives.
Regarding the law, Local Government Minister Tajul Islam told this correspondent that the draft law was give approval in the Cabinet earlier. But, it couldn be passed in the Sangsad due to shortage of time.
As a new Sangsad was elected and a new government has taken charge, the approval of the new Cabinet is necessary for the draft law. So, the draft would be placed in the Cabinet again, he added.
The Minister claimed that once the draft law is passed in the Sangsad, the village courts will be strengthened further. Its urgent of strengthen the village courts to ensure justice and establish rule of law in the country.
According to the proposal of the LGD, the draft law would be given in principle and final approval in the Mondays Cabinet meeting at a time.
In the amendment proposals, the LGD suggested the government to replace the word of immature (Nabalak) with child (shishu). Some changes were also brought in the definition of the law, formation and activities of the village court incorporating the local authority, completion of trial activities in the village courts within 15 days instead of existing 30 days and increasing the penalty to Tk 3 lakh from Tk 75,000.
In the draft law, a new provision of summoning the witnesses would also be included.
According to the local government division sources, there are around 37 lakh under-trial cases which are pending in several courts across the country. Of the cases, a huge number of cases can be resolved in the initial stage. To resolve those cases, the village court was established in 1976 under and ordinance and it was very must popular among the grassroots level in between 1977 to 1981.
Later, the government enacted a law in 2006. After promulgation of the law, the government had sent some cases which cover the jurisdiction of the village court to the courts for disposal.
According to the LGD, some 6,044 cases have been disposed in the village courts. As a result of formation of the village court, the number of cases lessened in the trial courts.
