Government is striving to protect people's right to justice: PM Sheikh Hasina

She said the government has extending its helping hands to downtrodden people in different sections of the society. Side by side the government has also taken steps for legal aid services programme to help the people to get justice.

"Seeking justice is one of the basic rights of the people and it's the constitutional responsibility of the government to ensure the rights of the people," the Prime Minister said while inaugurating the National Legal Aid Services Day-2016 at a function at Engineers Institute of Bangladesh (EIB) auditorium here on Thursday.

Sheikh Hasina said her government during its 1996-2001 stint had taken the initiative of giving legal aid services to the poor as she knew it better about the hazards in getting justice. "They are not aware of the legal system to get justice and many people are languishing in the jail for years in lack of any assistance," she said.

"In my reading the Legal Aid Services was the best work so far our government have taken for reformation of the country's legal system including filling up the shortage of judges, digitalization of the court activities, construction of new buildings for bar and bench in every district," she said.

Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Anisul Haq chaired the function while secretary of the ministry ASSM Zahirul Haque, Director of the National Legal Aid Services Organization Malik Abdullah Al Amin and two beneficiaries of the government's legal aid services also spoke on the occasion.

Former Chief Justices, Judges of Bangladesh Supreme Court and High Court, parliament members, legal and human rights professionals, and representatives of international development agencies attended the function.

Pointing out the significance of observing the Legal Aid Services Day, the Prime Minister said the day is being observed officially to let people know about the legal services including advice, support and counseling to the poor litigants free of cost.

"My presence in this programme of the day, which is being observed in the country for the fourth time, will make people interested in knowing better about the legal aid services of the government, encouraging them to take the services," she hoped.

Pointing out the Articles 27 and 19 of the constitution, the Prime Minister said as the citizens of an independent state every people has the right to seek justice, and it's the duty of the state to ensure equal rights of the people to avail the opportunity.

"But the right of the people was denied in many cases," she said pointing out the 'Indemnity Ordinance' passed by post-1975 dictators barring the trial of the Bangabandhu Murder. We had to wait 21 years until the people of Bangladesh turned around and voted Awami League to power," she said.

"It's very unfortunate that the self-confessed killers of Bangabandhu and his family members had got indulgence from a vested political quarter. They made the killers parliament members through vote rigging, envoy in different countries and awarded them in other forms.

"I didn't get justice from the vested quarter and they even didn't allow me to seek justice. But finally the ordinance was scrapped and the killers were tried by the blessings of the people, the Almighty and courage of the judges," she said adding, "I wonder how people support those patrons of the killers."

Sheikh Hasina said her government had framed the Legal Aid Act in 2000 when the Awami League was in power with beginning the activities under the act. "But, it's very unfortunate that the procedure had no progress during next BNP-Jamaat government," she added.

Expressing her government's firm determination to establish the justice and human rights, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the government has founded the Human Rights Commission side by side with creating the legal aid services organization. "The two organizations are playing very remarkable role in establishing rule of law in the country," she said.

She said more than 1.18 lakh poor and financially insolvent people have received legal aid services from the government from 2009 to 2014. "We want to ensure that the basic rights of the people would be protected," she said.

Saying that many people are languishing in the jail for years in silly cases or without any reason, the Prime Minister asked the law minister to take special initiative to give legal assistance to those people to dispose of their cases and get them released.

Sheikh Hasina said her party is pledged bound to the people through its election manifesto to establish an independent, neutral and modern judicial system. With the same spirit, she said, her government in the very first session of the 9th parliament had enacted the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2009 so that the judiciary can function independently.

The Prime Minister said her government wants to ensure independence of judiciary for establishing the rule of law as independent judiciary is a foremost requisite to this end. "The Awami League is always sincere to establish an independent judiciary," she said.

Laying importance on reducing the backlog of the cases, the Prime Minister said the government has already taken initiative to appoint judges in the lowest tier of the judiciary as well as in the upper level. "Steps were taken for modernization of the court buildings, creating various facilities and arrange sitting room for the judges and lawyers," she added.

Sheikh Hasina said her government has also taken steps to encourage use of information technology to make sure transparency and accountability of the judiciary apart from many administrative reform and amendment to age-old laws.

Earlier the Prime Minister inaugurated a national help line call centre through which people would be able to make emergency call to seek legal aid round the clock free of cost. She hoped that the call centre would be immensely beneficial for people to get legal aid services.