Judge shortage slows proceedings at Khulna CMM Court

KHULNA, Sept 13: A shortage of judges at the Metropolitan Magistrate Courts in Khulna has caused a backlog and slowed judicial proceedings, creating difficulties for litigants and lawyers.

According to court sources, three of the six Metropolitan Magistrate Courts in the city have remained without judges for more than a month. As many as 19,046 cases were pending before the six courts as of August 31, with only three judges handling them. Each functioning court therefore has more than 6,000 cases, putting considerable pressure on the judges and affecting the pace of disposal.

New cases are also filed daily by police stations in the metropolitan area, further increasing the backlog, sources at the Khulna Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court said.

Meanwhile, 2,562 important cases have been sent from the Metropolitan Magistrate Courts to the Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court and other courts for trial. Of those, 426 have been disposed of.

CMM Court Administrative Officer Tapan Kumar Saha said three courts, including the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court and two Metropolitan Magistrate Courts, have remained vacant following the transfer of judges.

He said the more than 19,000 pending cases make it extremely difficult for three judges to handle the workload.

Senior Khulna District Bar Association Member Abdul Malek said both plaintiffs and defendants suffer from the shortage.
Plaintiffs cannot produce witnesses and evidence on time, while defendants must appear repeatedly, causing financial losses and wasting time, he said.
Advocate Mominul Islam, coordinator of the Human Rights Implementation Organisation in Khulna, said prolonged litigation was contrary to the principles of justice.

He also cited lengthy investigations, reluctant witnesses, frequent transfers of judges and a shortage of courtrooms as factors contributing to delays. In some cases, two judges must sit in the same courtroom, including at the Children's Violence Suppression Tribunal.

“If the number of courtrooms is not increased at the state level, even high-profile and sensitive cases will continue to suffer from prolonged proceedings,” he said.