Shariatpur bar leaders show-caused for fixing 'bribe rates' for court employees
The president and general secretary of the Shariatpur Bar Association have been issued a show-cause notice over allegations of "fixing bribe amounts" for court clerks, peons, and court police.
Shariatpur Chief Judicial Magistrate, Abul Bashar Mia, issued the notice today (16 March) to the president of the bar association, Jahangir Alam Kashem, and the general secretary, Mohammad Kamrul Hasan.
The show-cause notice states that at a meeting of the executive committee of the Shariatpur Bar Association on 6 March, the rates for bribing court clerks, peons, and Grievance Redressal Officers (GROs) were set and recorded in the minutes. This has attracted attention on social media.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
In this context, the notice instructs the recipients to provide an explanation within three days as to why necessary legal actions will not be recommended to their professional regulatory authority regarding this illegal initiative.
According to Shariatpur Bar Association sources, the association's election was held on 12 February. In the election, the pro-BNP lawyers won uncontested. On 6 March, the newly elected committee held its first executive committee meeting.
The meeting resulted in several decisions aimed at fixing the amounts of "money" to be paid by legal service recipients visiting the court to court clerks, peons, and other officials, according to sources.
Shariatpur District Bar Association General Secretary Mohammad Kamrul Hasan said, "We took the initiative [fixing 'fees'] to fight corruption. We, along with the court, are committed to a zero-tolerance policy against corruption. We have discussed this matter with the district and sessions judge and the chief judicial magistrate. We will respond to the show-cause notice within three days."
Attempts were made to contact Shariatpur District Bar Association President Jahangir Alam Kashem and the Public Prosecutor of the District Court, Moniruzzaman Deepu, multiple times via phone. However, they did not answer the calls.
