Govt employees act protects corrupt officials from arrest

People’s representative from the local to the national level can be arrested on criminal charges in relation to their official duties, but this cannot happen in the case of public servants.

According to the new Government Employees Act 2018, to come into effect from Tuesday, the law enforcement must take permission from the government or the relevant authority to arrest the accused employee.

The Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh has decided to challenge the law, citing it as discriminatory.

Lawyers connected to the rights body said they would go to the court whenever it comes into effect.

The matter was discussed by the government, the Anti-Corruption (ACC) and in parliament over the last six years. The High Court also had discussed the matter.

In 2013, the parliament passed the ACC act with a provision that said no government employee can be arrested without prior permission from the government.

Four lawyers on behalf of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh filed a writ petition challenging the amendment on 25 November that year. The High Court (HC) on 30 January 2015 pronounced the amendment illegal.

Provisions of existing criminal laws also protect the government employees. Though section 197 of Code of Criminal Procedure does not bar arrest of any government employee, it asks the investigation officer to take permission from the ministry or concerned department to submit charge sheet against the accused employee. But according to the new law, government permission is required to arrest the employee before the court accepts the charge sheet.

“No law is permanent. It could be amended, is there’s any necessity. But this law will play a vital role in bringing speed to the works of public administration,” state minister for public administration Farhad Hossain told Prothom Alo.

“The law was not drawn up to exempt anyone. Besides, there’re alternatives including ACC acts for those who commit crime,” the state minister said responding to a question.

Farhad Hossain said government has to take various types decisions to move forward. If an official thinks implementing a project may be risky, he might not go ahead with it. At the same time it is necessary to implement the projects in the interests of the people.

Quoting the example of quick rental power generation projects, the state minister said the power situation would not have reached today’s point if the government had not given opportunities to set up the projects. Legal support was necessary for this but this does not mean anyone will get away with corruption.

Several ACC officials, seeking anonymity, told Prothom Alo that earlier the government appealed against the High Court verdict that halted the initiative to amend the ACC law safeguarding the public servants.

Litigator of the case Manzil Morshed told Prothom Alo that like the ACC law, this law will also be challenged at the court.

He said they had taken all preparations since the law was gazette in November last year.

The government employees act, he said, was simply made to protect a few corrupt government officials.

The ACC law reads it will be given priority over any other laws whereas the civil service government law says this law will supersede all other laws.

Legal experts think ACC law will always get upper hand.

In effect, this law has been a corruption safeguard, the lawyer added.

“I believe that the parliament passed the law without adequate review.”

Government documents suggest that this is the first law of this kind formulated specifically for the servants of the republic, which is aimed to make the public servants people oriented. In the past, nearly 1.4 million employees were regulated by the president act. The same kind of law was applicable for other 700,000 -800,000 employees in the public sector.

Due to the law, now the constitutional positions, judicial employees, uniformed law enforcers, the election commission, local government institutions, employees at the government and autonomous universities, employees at the development projects among others will not come under purview of this law.

In the law, more power was given to the president of the republic over the government employees. If any government employee is punished, he can appeal to the president.

No review appeal will be granted against the president’s decision over the matter. But one can submit review plea to the president.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has been voicing concern over since inception of the new law.

In a study on 23 June, TIB said the title of the law itself is conflicting with the constitution. This law should be named ‘public administration law’.

Public administration ministry sources said an initiative was taken to make a ‘civil service act’ in 2013. Later, prime minister Sheikh Hasina handed an order to make the law in accordance with the constitution. The cabinet then approved the draft law in 2015. Later, the law was passed as ‘government employees act’.

Asked about the much-talked-about law, former cabinet secretary Ali Imam Majumdar, “I don’t think any new favours for the government employees are needed than that of offered in the penal code over filing cases, charge-sheets or arrest.”

*This report, originally published in Prothom Alo print edition, has been rewritten here in English by Shameem Reza and Toriqul Islam.