District legal aid office becomes refuge for poor, helpless litigants in CHT

Bachani Khatun of Baghaichhari upazila's Ugalchari village in Rangamati felt helpless when attempts were made to grab her 36 decimals with fake documents. She tried to solve the matter through the local administration for two years. 

But Bachani's solution came from the district's legal aid office without her needing to move the court.

The District Legal Aid Office, Rangamati, is a government statutory organisation that provides legal aid to the poor under the National Legal Aid Services Organization.

It provides free legal services for litigants who are incapable of seeking justice due to financial insolvency, destitution, helplessness and various socio-economic conditions through alternative dispute resolution in both pre-case and post-case scenarios.

This organisation has shown commendable success in the districts of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in settling property, especially family disputes as there is no family court in the three hill districts.

Salma Begum, a 73-year-old widow in Rangapani, Rangamati, approached the court in desperation when her three children sold her husband's property and left her destitute. 

She filed a legal case against the three for maintenance in the court of Rangamati Senior Judicial Magistrate on 23 October. The court has taken cognizance of the case and issued a summons against the accused. 

The Legal Aid Office is fighting for Salma Begum's rights by appointing a panel of lawyers in the case.

The office has settled at least 300 such cases in Rangamati through mutual compromise instead of any case being filed.

The court's accomplishments 

According to the district's legal aid office, from January 2022 to February this year, 1,205 petitions were submitted. 

Of them, 1,095 applications have been settled. As a result of the settlements, Tk1.22 crore has been recovered.

Besides, 420 civil, criminal and family cases have been settled.

As many as 1,175 people have received legal advice from the office and 101 pending court cases have been withdrawn as a result of compromises arrived at.

Its overall case settlement rate is 38.37%. 

Visiting disputed lands

One of the initiatives of the Rangamati Legal Aid Office is to visit the disputed land and hold a settlement meeting. 

The Chittagong Hill Tracts being a special region, more than 145 disputed lands have been visited and settlement meetings have been held under this programme – introduced first in Rangamati.

District Legal Aid Officer and Senior Assistant Judge Md Junaid told The Business Standard that land dispute settlement in Rangamati is a complex task due to the lack of surveys.

"In such instances, we go directly to the disputed site and resolve the problem with the consent of both parties," he said.

"We focus on providing free legal advice; settling disputes by mediation before going to court; and resolving cases related to land, family disputes and maintenance disputes," he added. 

"We don't have any transport vehicles and there is a shortage of manpower," Junaid said, adding that his office will be able to do more work if these issues are resolved. 

Legal Aid panel lawyer Advocate Salima Wahida Jeny said the office has become a refuge for the poor and helpless litigants of Rangamati. 

Through the service, common people are enjoying various benefits, including settling family disputes, and land tenure disputes, she said. "We are providing this service as panel lawyers of Legal Aid."

Bandarban and Khagrachhari 

In Khagrachhari, 130 cases have been settled through its Legal Aid Office in one year with a success rate of about 90%.

Khagrachhari Legal Aid Officer and Senior Assistant Judge Rajib Dey said, "When a special case is sent to us from the court or jail, we try to resolve it through mutual compromises."

Bandarban Legal Aid Office has dealt with about 300 cases in one year, said Suborna Tanchangya, office assistant of the district office