Bill placed to extend time for speedy trial act
Home Minister Sahara Khatun yesterday placed a bill in parliament for extending the term of a controversial law by another two years.
The present government has already increased the term of the Law and Order Disruption Offence (Speedy Trial) Act 2002 by two years in 2010. It will expire on April 7 this year.
After passage of the act, the then opposition Awami League described it as “a black law” and accused the BNP-led government of crushing the opposition agitations.
In defence of the extension, Sahara Khatun told the House that the law was made to improve the law and order situation by ensuring quick trial of offences like creating obstacles to movement of any vehicles or damaging any of them or destroying government properties or demonstration of muscle power in an organised way to create panic.
Sahara placed the bill when the BNP-led opposition parties are preparing to gear up street agitation to force the government to restore the caretaker government system.
The home minister yesterday placed another bill seeking to bring about changes in the anti-terrorism act 2009.
Meanwhile, the House passed a bill amending the Public Servants (Retirement) Act of 1974 for increasing the public servants' retirement age to 59 from 57.
On behalf of LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, who is also in charge of the public administration ministry, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury proposed passage of the bill.
Earlier, the government had increased the retirement age by amending the law through a presidential ordinance promulgated in December 2011.
The government placed the bill to ratify the changes brought by the ordinance.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary standing committee on the law, justice, and parliamentary affairs yesterday recommended that the House pass two bills, seeking to make it mandatory for the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and MPs to pay tax on their remuneration.
It also recommended the passage of another bill seeking enactment of a law on mutual cooperation to combat criminal activities.
Advocate Fazle Rabbi Mia, chief of the parliamentary body, placed the committee's reports on scrutiny of the three bills.
Meanwhile, Maj Gen (retd) Abdus Salam, chief of the parliamentary standing committee on the home ministry, placed a report recommending that the House pass two bills to enact laws on prevention of human trafficking and control pornography.
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