Bill placed in parliament to raise monetary jurisdiction of lower court judges

A bill titled "The Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2021" was placed in parliament today, aiming to raise the pecuniary jurisdiction of lower court judges to dispose of civil cases.

Law Minister Anisul Huq placed the proposed law in parliament. The bill was sent to the parliamentary standing committee of the law ministry for further scrutiny.

The parliamentary watchdog was asked to submit its report before the parliament within three working days.

As per the bill, the pecuniary jurisdictions of the civil courts will be increased. The threshold of the pecuniary jurisdiction was proposed to be increased to Tk 15 lakhs instead of the existing Tk 2 lakhs for an assistant judge, and Tk 25 lakhs instead of Tk 4 lakhs for a senior assistant judge in case of trying civil cases.

In case of hearing the appeals of the civil cases, the financial jurisdiction was raised to Tk 5 crores in place of the existing Tk 5 lakh for a district judge.

If the bill is passed, an assistant judge can try civil cases with a maximum asset value of Tk 15 lakh, while a senior assistant judge can try a civil case with a maximum asset value of Tk 25 lakh.

Besides, a provision has been incorporated in the bill to transfer appeals to the district judge court, which are pending with the High Court against the decree or order made by joint district judges in the civil suits involving maximum Tk 5 crore.