By Didarul Alam

Opening a new chapter in country's judicial history, a High Court bench is all set to begin paper free judicial proceedings from January 5.

The bench, designated for looking into the matters related to company law, was scheduled to start the process from January 2, but it delayed as all activities of the Supreme Court (SC) remained suspended on that day in honour of late adviser of the interim government and former attorney general AF Hassan Ariff.

Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed announced a roadmap to modernize the judiciary, reduce harassment of the people, and make the judiciary free from influence.

In line with that roadmap, progress has already been made and new ideas have been generated among the people, including the legal community," senior jurist Barrister Salauddin Dolan told BSS.

Paper-free judicial proceedings by preparing a platform for submitting all papers online is the beginning of a new chapter, said Supreme Court spokesperson Md Shafikul Islam.

Under the supervision and innovation of the apex court, an online platform for submitting all the papers of that bench has already been prepared, he said.

Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed has declared making all benches paper-free in phases by this year. He hoped that in the long run, paper-free judicial activities will also be conducted in the district courts, Md Shafikul Islam said.

The Chief Justice on September 21 gave a road map for the reform of the judiciary. He announced zero tolerance against corruption in judiciary and stressed the need for preparing a roadmap to regain the public confidence through establishing transparency and integrity in the judicial process.

In the roadmap, the Chief Justice announced various short, medium and long-term plans to ensure meaningful reforms in the judiciary of Bangladesh.

As part of the implementation of the plans, significant progress has already been made to establish a separate secretariat for the judiciary, engage an independent body to appoint apex court judges, and formulate policy for transfer and posting of the judges of the subordinate courts.

The chief justice also committed to implement e-judiciary. Necessary initiatives are being taken to bring the judicial process of the country's apex court and district courts completely under e-judiciary, SC spokesperson said.