Truth and Accountability Commission

Truth and Accountability Commission (Bengali: সত্য ও জবাবদিহি কমিশন), also known as Truth Commission,[1] was a Bangladesh government regulatory commission formed by the Fakhruddin Ahmed led Caretaker Government to investigate corruption and was eventually declared illegal by the courts.[2][3] The Commission was head by Justice Habibur Rahman Khan.[4]

Truth and Accountability Commission
Formation30 July 2008
HeadquartersDhaka, Bangladesh
Region served
Bangladesh
Official language
Bengali

History

The Truth and Accountability Commission was established on 30 July 2008 by the Fakhruddin Ahmed led Caretaker Government to increase the speed of corruption cases.[5][6][7] The Caretaker Government had arrested numerous politicians including former Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia on corruption charges.[1] The commission was made up of a former Judge of Bangladesh Supreme Court Justice Habibur Rahman Khan, retired Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh Asif Ali, and a retired Major General Manzur Rashid Chowdhury from Bangladesh Army.[1][8]

The Commission had the authority to provide immunity to those who confess to corruption and give their ill-gotten wealth to the government.[5] During the commission's short lived life 448 people confessed and deposited 340 million taka in the government treasury.[5] Transparency International Bangladesh noted that the commission collected arbitrary amounts as fines from corruption suspects.[9] Former President Hussain Mohammad Ershad in an opinion piece on The Daily Star described the Commission as "impractical".[10] The amount reported by suspects and deposited by them was only a small fraction of the amount the Anti-Corruption Commission estimated they had stolen.[11]

On 25 August 2008, Supreme Court of Bangladesh lawyers and politicians filed petitions challenging the legality of the commission based on the argument that only courts are authorized to give verdicts according to the Constitution of Bangladesh.[5] On 13 November 2008, Bangladesh High Court declared the Truth and Accountability Commission illegal.[5] The verdict was delivered by Justices Mir Hasmat Ali and Shamim Hasnain.[12] Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina disclosed the names of 456 people who had confessed to the commission in April 2009.[13]

References
  1. Ali, AMM Shawkat. "Truth Commission". en.banglapedia.org. Banglapedia. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  2. "Bangladesh truth commission is declared 'illegal'". BBC News. 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  3. "Law and Our Rights". archive.thedailystar.net. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  4. "Justice Habibur Rahman Khan passes away". www.observerbd.com. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  5. "Bangladesh: Truth and Accountability Commission Declared Illegal". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  6. "The Truth Commission". The Daily Star. 2008-04-04. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  7. Faisal, Farhad; e-mail, On (2008-03-28). "Truth commission". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  8. Staff Correspondent (2008-07-31). "Truth Commission gets chief, members". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  9. "Anti-Corruption Commission: How can it be truly effective? - Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB)". www.ti-bangladesh.org. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  10. Ershad, Hussain Muhammad (2007-10-21). "Truth commission: An impractical proposition in Bangladesh context". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  11. Hossain, Emran (2009-01-20). "Lies in the Truth Commission". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  12. Staff Correspondent (2008-11-14). "Truth Commission not legal". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  13. Staff Correspondent (2009-04-02). "PM discloses list of 456 people seeking Tac clemency". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-10-04.


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