Can someone be hanged before trial? Many people may be surprised to hear this question, think, is it ever possible? Article 31 of our Constitution recognizes the right to have recourse to law. Presumption of innocence of a citizen before the charges against him are proved in a competent court is one of the basic conditions of the rule of law. But the rule of law, justice and the constitution have been violated at every post during the one and a half year rule of the Yunus government.
The biggest black law during Yunus’ regime was the amendment of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act. By amending this law, arbitrary acts like harassment, seizure of bank accounts before trial, confiscation of property are allowed in the name of undercover investigation.
On December 23, the Ministry of Law issued a notification for further amendments to the ACC Act-2004 in the light of the previous interim government’s report on ACC reforms. After the new government assumed office on February 17, the first session of Parliament began on March 12. On this day, 133 ordinances including ACC-related ordinances were introduced in the Parliament session. Out of those 133 ordinances, 113 were passed and seven were cancelled. No decision has been taken on the remaining 13 ordinances. Among these was the ACC Amendment Ordinance. According to the law, those 13 ordinances have lost their effectiveness after 30 days have passed from the date of their promulgation in the session on March 12 to April 11. The previous ACC Act-2004 has been fully enforced since April 11.
Legal experts say that the current government has taken the right decision by not accepting the interim government’s ordinance. Because that Ordinance was contrary to the spirit of the Constitution. It gave extremely arbitrary powers, including confiscation of assets without investigation and trial. Sentencing someone without trial is not only illegal, it is a crime. But the Yunus government has been doing this for a year and a half by issuing this ordinance. Even though Yunus’ black law was repealed, those who were harassed under this law were not released. Those whose bank accounts were illegally seized, those who were banned from traveling abroad, and whose assets were seized before trial were automatically outlawed by the repeal of Yunus’s Black Law. Even so, the victims are yet to get redressal.
According to the Anti-Corruption Commission, the bank accounts of about 1500 businessmen and innocent people have been seized under Yunus’s black law. Before the investigation, about 1000 industrialists, businessmen and people of various professions have been banned from traveling abroad. Assets worth Rs 55,000 crore have been seized. As a result, the country’s economy has suffered the most. Due to this black law of Yunus, a lot of panic was created among businessmen, industrialists and entrepreneurs. Many closed the business. As a result, several lakhs of people became unemployed again. On the one hand unemployment has increased, on the other hand employment has contracted due to lack of new investment.
Due to the closure of bank accounts, many good businessmen have become insolvent again. The condition of commercial banks has worsened due to defaulted loans. Despite providing various facilities to Bangladesh Bank to reduce defaulted loans, the defaulted loans of 44 banks out of 61 scheduled banks in the country increased in the January-March quarter of this year. Central bank officials said that the increase in defaulted loans of so many banks has never happened before. Not only the weak banks, this time City Bank, Prime Bank, Bank Asia, Uttara Bank and the foreign-owned Standard Chartered Bank, which are in a good position in the financial index, have also seen a significant amount of defaulted loans.
This is the result of the black law of Yunus. How will those whose bank accounts have been seized pay their debts? Today in the era of globalization one has to go abroad to do business. But if entrepreneurs, industrialists are banned from going abroad for years, how will they do business? Many have stopped their business because they cannot go abroad. Which has an impact on the financial sector and the economy.
The private sector is troubled by this black law. The main driving force of the country’s economy is the private sector. This black law of Yunus has ruined the country’s economy. Anti-corruption and money laundering are major problems in all countries. But nowhere in the world is there such an inferior black law. Prevention of Corruption Act was enacted in India in 1988, which was amended in 2018.
On the other hand, new laws were enacted in 2002 to prevent money laundering. The agency responsible for investigating corruption in India is called the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation). On the other hand money laundering is investigated by ED (Enforcement Directorate).
Under Indian law, investigating agencies cannot seize property or bank accounts before a court order. Only after issuing the chargesheet can the transaction be restricted subject to the permission of the court. So that the accused cannot withdraw the entire amount and carry it away. In case of ban on foreign travel to India, the charge sheet of the case against the accused has to be served. A ban on foreign travel cannot be issued just because there is a complaint.
Supreme Court of India has ruled on this. India may impose a ban on foreign travel under special circumstances and for a specified period. But in no case is it indefinite. The specific reasons and duration of such ban must be submitted to the court. Anti-Corruption Act of 1947 is still in force in Pakistan. According to the law, only if he is found guilty in court, his bank account or assets can be seized. In Pakistan, the Special Powers Act allows a ban on foreign travel for a maximum period of three months. In this case, the reason for imposing the ban must be mentioned.
The UK has a very strict anti-corruption and anti-money laundering legal framework, which works to ensure ‘clean money’ around the world. The Bribery Act 2010, the UK’s most important anti-corruption law, came into effect on 1 July 2011. There is no right to seize bank accounts in this Act. Only reasonable explanation of bank statement is sought. Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Proceeds of Crime Act 2002-POCA): Under this law, money obtained through illegal means (such as money from corruption, drugs or crime) can be temporarily seized by identifying a bank account or a certain amount of assets for a specific period of time after preliminary investigation. But these countries do not have provisions to ban foreign travel for an indefinite period.
According to the Constitution of Bangladesh, banning a person from traveling abroad for an indefinite period is a violation of fundamental rights. Article 36 of the Constitution states, ‘Every citizen shall have the right to move freely throughout Bangladesh, to reside and settle anywhere in Bangladesh, and to leave and re-enter Bangladesh, subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the public interest.’
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh said in the historic judgment of the ACC v. GB Hossain case, ‘A person cannot be prevented from going abroad just because there is a criminal case against him. Fundamental rights of the Constitution cannot be deprived on the pretext of being in a criminal case only.’ (74 DLR).
During the Yunus era, not only the fundamental rights of the constitution were violated, but the court was held in contempt by disobeying the judgment of the Appellate Division. BNP government repealed this black law. But through this law those who have suffered endlessly did not get relief from harassment. We believe that the government will soon stand by those who have been oppressed under this black law. I hope the government will not delay any more to create a healthy, normal investment friendly environment in the country by opening bank accounts, lifting restrictions on foreign travel.
