Shortage of courts, judges leads to case backlogs: Law minister tells JS

Stating that there are an approximate 41,09,755 cases currently pending in the country's courts, the Law Minister Anisul Huq today (30 June) told the parliament that the huge backlog of cases is owed to a shortage of courts and judges.

"The law ministry has proposed extending the number of courts to address this issue, with 158 new courts to be established very soon," he said during the discussion of a proposal by several parliamentarians to cut the allocation of the law and judiciary sector in the 2024-25 fiscal year budget.

The law minister said, "The members of parliament have spoken about…. the backlogs of cases. The problem of backlogs cannot be denied."

Highlighting the various steps taken by the government to address the backlog, Anisul Huq stated that the prime minister planned to establish chief judicial magistrate and chief metropolitan magistrate courts in 64 districts. 

So far, 41 of these courts have been established, and 23 are in progress and will be completed very soon, he added.
Members of Parliament Hamidul Haque Khandakar (Kurigram-2), Pankaj Nath (Barishal-4), Md Abul Kalam (Natore-1), and Hafiz Uddin Ahmed (Thakurgaon-3) proposed reducing the allocation in the law and justice sector from Tk222 crore to Tk1. 

Additionally, Md Naser Shahriar Zahedi proposed reducing this amount to Tk1000.

The law minister explained the reason for not being able to accept the retrenchment proposal, saying, "We have been allocated Tk2,022 crore. They suggested reducing it to Tk1, but if I accept that, I won't be able to do anything. I need the 
entire Tk2,022 crore. I cannot accomplish anything with Tk1. 

"However, I can assure you that I will do my utmost to alleviate the suffering of those involved in these cases as much as possible with the allocated Tk2,022 crore."