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Judiciary of Rangamati

History

Geographically far away from the Himalayan region, the location of the larger Chittagong Hill Tracts district with the mountainous area spreading south. Rangamati, the administrative headquarters of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, is the largest district in the country. On June 20, 1860, the Chittagong Hill Tracts District was created with these three hilly areas - Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban. According to Bangladesh District Gazetteers, a publication of the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, the Chittagong Hill Tracts were part of the Greater Chittagong District under Mughal rule. In 1765, Bengali, Bihar, Orissa was handed over to the British. According to Act No. 22 of 1860 and Notification No. 3301 dated June 20 of the same year, Chittagong Hill Tracts became a separate district. Before the creation of the district, its name was Karpus Mahal. When Bandarban and Khagrachari districts were created from Chittagong Hill Tracts in 1981 and Khagrachari in 1983, the main part of Chittagong Hill Tracts emerged as Rangamati Hill District. In the traditional revenue collection system, there is a Chakma circle chief in the Rangamati hill district. Before the arrival of the British, Karpus Mahal was the battlefield of Tripura, Mughal, Chakma and Arakan kings. While conquering Vijayagiri, the Chakma king conquered this region and established a kingdom. In 1760-61 the East India Company entered the region. In 1737 Chakma Raja Sher Mosta Khan defeated the Mughals and expelled them from this region. This district is the largest district in the country in terms of size. The only rickshaw-free city in the country, a tourist city surrounded by lakes. Four lakh Charbhanga settlers were resettled in this region in the 1980s after the formation of Bangladesh. Currently Chakma, Marma, Tanchanga, Tripura, Murong, Bom, Khumi, Kheang, Chak, Pankhowa, Lusai, Sujesautal, Rakhine, mostly Bengalis live in this district with 14 communities. In addition to the special administrative structure existing in the hill region since the British period, a new dimension has been added to this structure after the signing of the Hill Accord in 1997 under the leadership of the Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during the previous Awami League government. Under the Hill Accord, a separate ministry called the Chittagong Hill Tracts Ministry was created to coordinate the functions of the three hill district councils. Rangamati Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council, 1 Task Force for resettlement of refugees and IDPs returned to India and Land Commission to settle land disputes in hilly areas.

Liberation War and Rangamati

In 1971 Rangamati district was under Sector 1. When the entire country is in turmoil in March, its wave reaches the hill district Rangamati as well. On April 20, Lance Naik Munshi Abdur Rauf of the 8th East Bengal Regiment single-handedly sank two of their launches and one speedboat at Burighat in Nanyarchar. One platoon (40-45 people) of enemy soldiers were killed in this. As a result of his bravery, the Pakistanis suffered heavy losses. Not only that, he fought alone in this war and saved the lives of about one and a half hundred of his comrades. Finally he was martyred by a Pakistani mortar shell. The government awarded him the highest military honor of Bir Shrestha. This heroic son of the nation is lying in eternal sleep on the Rouf Tila at Buri Ghat in Naniarchar. The final campaign began on December 14. First, the Pakistani bases of Barkal and Baghaichhari were attacked by air. In the early morning of December 15, the Mujib army and the Indian army jointly attacked the Barkal base. Several Pak soldiers were killed in the fighting which lasted till 3 pm and the rest fled towards Rangamati town. At the same time the Pakistani positions were attacked at various places including Kaukhali, the network of Pakistan Army in the entire district collapsed and they were forced to surrender. As a result, Rangamati was liberated from the enemy on 15 December. However, this day is celebrated as Rangamati Liberation Day as the national flag was hoisted on 17th December to formally announce the liberation of the enemy.

Department of Justice

Although it is the right of the candidate to receive justice in an independent and impartial court, the British issued The Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation, 1900 with 20 articles on 17 January 1900 to establish their authority in the Chittagong Hill Tracts i.e. the current three hill districts. As a result of an attack on a fort on the banks of the Kaptai Canal, in 1860 AD the Divisional Commissioner appointed a Superintendent for Hill Tribes to separate Rangamati district from Chittagong as a hill region and an officer was appointed as Superintendent of Rangamati Hill Tribes. In 1867, the officer-in-charge of the Chittagong Hill Tracts district was changed from Superintendent to Deputy Commissioner and was given full control over all aspects of the revenue and judicial system of the entire hill region. Prior to 2008, the Deputy Commissioner served ex officio as a Civil Court Judge (with the powers of a Joint District Judge) of Rangamati Hill District and as per The Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation, 1900, the Chittagong Divisional Commissioner served as the Sessions Judge of Rangamati Hill District. Thus, before the separation of judiciary in 2007, according to The Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation, 1900, the District Commissioner of Rangamati Hill District used to settle disputes in civil cases as the civil judge of the district and according to Rule No. 10 of this Act, the order of the District Commissioner in civil cases of Rangamati district could be appealed to Chittagong Divisional Commissioner. . Appellate authority against the order of the Deputy Commissioner, the Divisional Commissioner of Chittagong was prohibited from appointing a lawyer for the trial candidate. The High Court had no control and supervision over the civil justice system. At present the Rangamati judicial system can be broadly divided into two parts. Namely- 1) formal system and 2) traditional system. In the constitution made under the guidance of the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in order to have courts and tribunals of the same nature throughout the country including Chittagong Hill Tracts, subordinate courts are provided for in articles 114 to 116A of the constitution and in article 22, the judiciary is the executive department. The provision of separation was also inserted in the light of the historical Masdar Hussain case (52 DLR AD 82) on November 1, 2007, the judiciary was separated across the country, but in three hill districts which were validated by The District (Extension to Chittagong Hill Tracts) Ordinance 1984 promulgated in 1981. (Chittagong Hill Tracts) Civil trial and Sessions Court are not separated. According to custom and tradition, tribal matters are traditionally adjudicated by neighborhood traders, Mauza Headmen and Circle Chiefs. According to rule 40 of the rules made under the regulation, the deputy commissioner accepted the revision against the decision of the circle chief and according to the provisions of section 66 of the three hill district councils act of 1989, the commissioner of Chittagong division accepted and heard the appeal. In 2003, The Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation (Amendment) Act.2003 was passed. Through this Act, the judicial powers vested in the Deputy Commissioner and Divisional Commissioner are transferred to the judicial officers subordinate to the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. Courts of District and Sessions Judges were set up in the three hill districts on 01 July 2008 in pursuance of the High Court's direction (61DLR109) on writ petitions filed by advocates of the three hill districts including BLAST. The Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation, 1903 Amendment Act of 2003 created the post of District and Sessions Judge in Rangamati District. Ex-officio District Judges are deemed to be Sessions Judges and Joint District Judges are ex-officio Assistant Sessions Judges under this Act. Mr. Dudu Mia Sarkar served as the first District and Sessions Judge and Mr. Md. Belayet Ullah as the first Chief Judicial Magistrate. Mr. Syed Kamal Hossain as the first joint district and session judge on 01/7/2008 AD. In 2004, the Rangamati Lawyers' Association made its formal debut with the permission of the Bangladesh Bar Council. Then Mr. Phanindra Lal Das served as the first President of Rangamati District Bar Association (2004-2005).

On November 1, 2007, after the separation of the judiciary, The Judicial Proceedings of The Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Rangamati Hill District were Proceeded. on 01/07/2008 A.D. The Judicial Proceedings of District and Sessions Judge's Court of Rangamati Hill District were started by transferring the case's from the court of the then District Commissioner and District Magistrate. Then the District Legal Aid Office was established in 2009, whose activities have been ongoing since 2014 AD by regularly appointing Legal Aid Officers. Mr. Sheikh Md. Badiul Alam, Senior Assistant Judge served as the first District Legal Aid Officer. On March 31, 2021 AD, the Women and Child Abuse Prevention Tribunal was established & Mr. A. E. M. Ismail Hossain is firstly appointed as Judge (District and Sessions Judge) of the said Tribunal. Recently 29/09/22 A.D. Additional District Judge Court has been created by creating the post of Additional District Judge. Mr. Tawhidul Haque is firstly appointed as Additional District and Sessions Judge in the said court. Rangamati hill district has no Artha Rin Adalat, Assistant /Senior assistant judge court and family court.

Since the British period, the hill region has been the only area where the judicial system and the application of laws are different and exceptional from the prevailing laws and judicial systems throughout the country. Laws Applicable to Hill Districts - The Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation, 1900, The Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation, 1900, The Market Fund Rules Regulation, 1958, The Hill District Local Government Parishad Act (Amendment 1998), The Chittagong Hill Tracts Ordinance, 1984 , Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Dispute Settlement Commission Act etc.).

Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation No. 01 of 1900 regulates the governance and judicial system of hilly areas. Besides, if any other law is fully or partially implemented or amended in the hill districts, the government must issue a gazette. In the Criminal Courts, The Code of Criminal Procedure, The Penal Code and the Law of Evidence are used and applicable as usual in the plain districts. But the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 is not fully effective till now. Civil Courts conduct trials is in the summary trial system. That is, the Chittagong Hill Tracts Rules, 1900 are in force contemporaneously. According to Rule 40 of the Regulation, Mauza Headmen and Circle Chiefs try certain criminal offenses including tribal disputes according to social customs and customary practices.

On 02/02/1994 AD District and Sessions Judge Court Building was established. On 24/07/2022 A.D. Hon'ble Law Minister of the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Mr. Anisul Haque, MP inaugurated the new building of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court. Judicial proceedings started in the new building from 25/07/2022 AD.

In compilation:

Israt Jahan Poonam, Senior Judicial Magistrate.

In collaboration with:

Shiplu Kumar Dey, Senior Judicial Magistrate.

Md. Jamshed Alam, Judicial Magistrate.

Data sources:

• Bangladesh District Gazetteers

• The Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation, 1900

• 52 DLR AD 82

• The District (Extension to Chittagong Hill Tracts) Ordinance 1984

• The Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation (Amendment) Act.2003

• 61DLR109