Thousands of justice-seeking people face untold sufferings in the court area across the country every day as there is no arrangement for such people to take rest or avail enough washroom facilities.
Against this backdrop, the authorities concerned have taken an initiative to set up restrooms on the premises of each of the District and Sessions Judges Courts and other relevant courts across the country in order to alleviate sufferings of the justice-seeking people.
The restroom for the justice-seeking people has been named ‘Nyaykunja’. A budget of Tk 35 crore has already been allocated for setting up ‘Nyaykunja’ on the premises of each court across the country. The ‘Nyaykunja’ project under this budget has already begun.
Chief Justice Hasan Foyez Siddique laid the foundation stone of ‘Nyayakunja’ restroom on the Chuadanga court premises on Saturday (March 4).
Speaking on the occasion, he said that such restrooms will be set up on the premises of each of the District and Sessions Judges Courts and other relevant courts in the country aiming to reduce the suffering of people who come to seek justice in the court.
The Chief Justice said, “We have taken the concept of Nyaykunja after thinking that the courts were created for the people. So, it is everyone’s responsibility so that the people can get all the services easily and feel comfortable. People who come to the court from villages and far away, especially women and children, have to face many problems. With this thought, I requested the Prime Minister immediately after taking the oath, whether such restrooms can be built in every court premises.”
He said that a budget of Tk 35 crore has already been allocated in this regard.
Justice Abu Zafar Siddiqui of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, Justice KM Hafizul Alam of the International Criminal Tribunal, Chuadanga District and Sessions Judge Zia Haider, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Chuadanga Mohammad Aminul Islam Khan, judge of Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal of Chuadanga Musrat Zerin, Superintendent of Police (SP) Abdullah Al Mamun, Chief Judicial Magistrate Lutfur Rahman Shishir, President of Chuadanga District Bar Association Advocate Selim Uddin Khan and General Secretary Advocate Fazle Rabbi Sagar, among others, were present on the occasion.
After the inauguration of the construction work of ‘Nyaykunja’ restroom, the Chief Justice exchanged views with members of Chuadanga District Bar Association. He also joined a tree plantation programme on the Chuadanga court premises.
In response to a question from journalists regarding the huge number of pending cases in Chuadanga, the Chief Justice said, “On the last Supreme Court Day, in the presence of the President and the Prime Minister, we said that about 5,000 more judicial officers are needed to dispose of the pending cases. I issued a circular soon after my arrival, arranging for speedy disposal of old cases.”
“The rate of disposal of cases has increased in the last one year compared to the previous year. The few officers we have are working day and night in this regard. We will try to provide more officers to Chuadanga,” he said.
In response to another question that many judges do not come on time, the Chief Justice said, “I cannot accept the statement as 100% correct. Soon after I became the Chief Justice, I wrote the judges that you will sit in office on time. The work of the judge is not only sitting in the court. They have to write the judgment order. They also work at home at night. Even then, if anyone neglects to fulfil his duty, I assure you as the Chief Justice, I will not delay even a minute in taking action if a complaint comes to me.”
It can be said that Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique has taken an initiative to set up a restroom on the premises of each court in the country. In a letter sent to some departments concerned, he has given opinion in favour of setting up the ‘Nyaykunja’ restroom for at least 100 people in each District and Sessions Judges Court and for 40-50 people in every Chowki Court.
The restrooms will have separate units for men and women, separate rooms for breastfeeding mothers, toilets in each unit, arrangement for potable water in every unit and a mini stationery shop.
Some justice-seeking people and also the lawyers hailed the move of setting up ‘Nyaykunja’ on the court premises.
Talking to Bangladesh Post, Advocate Md Kamruzzaman, a lawyer in Dhaka, said thousands of people come to the court areas every day. Some people come to appear in the courts, while some people come to meet with their imprisoned relatives. They face various sufferings. Especially the women who come to the court premises with babies face problems regularly. In such a situation, the ‘Nyaykunja’ restrooms will play a vital role in reducing sufferings of the people who come to courts every day, he added.