Cabinet approves law to safeguard government officials from immediate arrests in criminal cases

The government has approved a draft law to safeguard its officials from being immediately arrested in criminal cases.

A cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday gave its final approval to the new law making it mandatory for arresting officers or agencies to secure permission for the detention of government officials, before the acceptance of chargesheets by courts of justice.

However, no prior approval will be required after the acceptance of chargesheets by courts.

The law which was earlier known as the Government Official Act has changed its name to the Civil Service Act 2018.

“The law is coming up after a long discussion and many issues will be covered in its sections,” Cabinet Secretary Mohammed Shafiul Alam said in a news briefing.

"An approval by the government or recruiting authority will be needed to arrest a government official if the court is yet to accept the chargesheet against the official in a criminal case. No approval will be needed once the chargesheet is accepted by the court," said Alam.

The Anti-Corruption Commission, for example, has to secure permission if it plans to arrest a government official before the acceptance of the chargesheet, said Alam, when asked.

The BNP-led alliance government initiated a law titled “Civil Service Act” in 2006 but never drafted it.

Later, the caretaker government led by Fakhruddin Ahmed prepared the draft for the law. The government led by the Awami League had formed a committee in 2013 to prepare the draft of the Government Official Act.

The public administration ministry finalised the draft in 2014 and the cabinet approved the proposed law in principle a year later.