The High Court on Monday issued a rule asking the authorities concerned why the new provision incorporated in the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2013 making it mandatory to take prior government permission to file corruption cases against public servants should not be declared illegal.
Justice Kazi Reza-ul Haq and Justice ABM Altaf Hossain issued the rule following a preliminary hearing on a petition.
The Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad, the Law Secretary, the Cabinet Secretary, the PMO Secretary, the President’s office secretary and parliament secretariat secretary have been asked to respond to the rule within four weeks.
Earlier on Saturday, a legal notice was served to the authorities concerned seeking steps within 24 hours for scrapping the new provision.
The notice said a writ petition will be filed with the High Court if the new provision incorporated in the ACC Act is not scraped within the stipulated time.
The Anti Corruption Commission (Amendment) Bill 2013 was passed in parliament on November 10 amid widespread criticisms.
The amendment included a new provision in the section 32 of the ACC Act 2004 under which the Commission must follow the Rule 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) against a judge, a magistrate or a civil servant.
According to the Rule 197 of the CrPC, when any person who is a judge within the meaning of section 19 of the Penal Code, or when any magistrate, or when any public servant who is not removable from his office save by or with the sanction of the government, is accused of any offence alleged to have been committed by him while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty, no court shall take cognisance of such offence except with the prior government sanction.
Source: UNB Connect