A section of dishonest lawyers, their assistants and clients and some court employees in an unholy nexus are allegedly involved in fraudulent practice of securing bail through making fake documents.
The High Court bench of Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique and Justice KM Hafizul Alam on Wednesday ordered police to arrest four people, including two lawyers, for allegedly making a forged bail order of the High Court for the release of their clients in Bogura.
Some of the bail forgeries were detected following investigation in the recent days. In the recent cases, some lawyers and court employees were found to have prepared fraudulent bail papers or bail applications with fake documents of lower court where they had changed the types of crime committed by their clients.
It was alleged that the dishonest lawyers and their accomplices issue fake bail orders forging the judge’s signature. They get huge amount of money from their clients, who are released through fake bail orders or get anticipatory bail from the higher court.
Experts and analysts said that this type of fraudulence could be stopped if the errant lawyers and the dishonest court employees are brought to book after holding proper investigation and trial of such cases. Secretary of Supreme Court Bar Association Ruhul Quddus Kazal said that if any lawyer or any others are accused of such unethical acts, they should be arrested and punished.
Sources said that the Supreme Court administration has become active to prevent the unethical act. They have filed over 60 cases in connection with bail forgery under the direction of the High Court. Of these, about 40 cases were filed from various criminal branches, ten from writ branches, two from criminal appeal branches and ten from other branches. These cases are now under investigation and trial.
However, the High Court bench of Justice Md Abu Zafor Siddique and Justice KM Hafizul Alam on Wednesday ordered police to arrest four people, including two lawyers, for allegedly making a forged bail order.
The four people are Dhaka Judge’s Court lawyer Ahmed Razib, his assistant Md Sohagh, computer operator of Dhaka Judge’s Court Masud Rana and Bogura’s lawyer Tanzim Al Misbah.
It is learnt that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police found involvement of the four people in making the forged bail order in a violence case filed over a clash for jockeying for supremacy in Bogura Motor Malik Samity.
According to the CID report filed to the High Court, Md Sohagh in his confessional statement admitted his offence. After holding hearing on the report, the HC bench ordered to arrest the four people within two weeks. The court, however, asked the investigation officer (IO) in the case to appear before the High Court on June 23, said Deputy Attorney General Samira Tarannum Rabeya.
On February 24, the HC bench ordered police to arrest 30 accused in the violence case of Bogura, who got ‘six-month anticipatory bail’ after fabricating the fake bail order of this court in their favour. The HC bench came up with the order on a suo moto move after a copy of the forged bail order was placed before it and the officials concerned of the court confirmed that a fake anticipatory bail order was fabricated.
On February 9, the clash took place in Bogura Satmatha area between two groups. The following day, three cases were filed over the clash with Bogura Sadar police station.
Such illegal acts are taking place where some of them are detected. On October 4 in 2020, the High Court bench of Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Justice Md Atoar Rahman cancelled its order granting bail to seven people accused of killing two people at Terokhada in Khulna on August 7 in 2019, as they obtained the bail forging the case documents and suppressing facts. The accused in the case forged the first information report and the order sheet of the lower court rejecting their bail. Later, they sought bail from the High Court.
On September 20, another bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman asked HC registrar to file criminal cases against Kabir Biswas of Jhenaidah, who reduced his life-term sentence to seven years by forging documents. The court had also warned a lawyer for getting involved in such cases.
