Chief justice calls for providing legal aid to all who lack representation 

Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed has called on authorities concerned to provide legal aid to any accused who lack legal representation in court.

No one should face trial without proper defence, said quoting the chief justice (CJ) during court proceedings on Thursday (5 September).

Khademul Islam Choyon, a Supreme Court lawyer, informed The Business Standard about the CJ’s remarks today (6 September).

Both the bar and the bench play an active duty to ensure that all accused individuals are represented by defence lawyers, CJ Syed Refaat also said.

He also remarked that legal aid can be an effective tool in achieving this goal. 

”According to law, only the people whose income is below the tax-free limit are eligible to get legal aid from the state. However, the CJ has called to ensure legal aid for all under special circumstances,” said Mohammad Abu Sayeed, assistant registrar of the Supreme Court. 

“Earlier in a meeting, the CJ also urged us to revise the existing legal aid policy,” he added. 

The chief justice wants to ensure that even the affluent, who cannot hire a lawyer to represent them in the court, can get legal aid in special circumstances, Abu Sayeed stated.

“The CJ further emphasised that these developments are being closely monitored by both local and international communities,” said Mohammad Abu Sayeed. 

Several former MPs and ministers have been arrested since the fall of the Awami League-led government on 5 August.

According to media reports, no lawyers agreed to represent some of them during the police’s remand plea hearing against them, including Salman F Rahman, former adviser to ousted premier Sheikh Hasina.