More than 7,000 corruption cases lodged by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) remain pending in courts across Bangladesh.
Of these, 4,331 are stuck in the Supreme Court, while 2,830 are under trial in lower courts including those in Dhaka.
The protracted delays have inadvertently benefited many of the accused, some of whom have retired from government service by the time proceedings resume.
Adjournment after adjournment has allowed many to exploit procedural loopholes, with some accused only showing renewed legal interest after leaving public office.
In a bid to revive stalled proceedings, the ACC has recently taken steps to reactivate dormant cases and begun the process of replacing members of its legal panel.
ACC spokesperson and Director General (Prevention) Akhter Hossain said, “The swift disposal of cases is not something the ACC can resolve alone. Nonetheless, we remain committed to managing our cases effectively. Since 5 August, a number of our lawyers have become unreachable, which has posed challenges. We are now appointing replacements, and we hope that moving forward, there will be no disruption in case proceedings.”
The chronic backlog in courts—exacerbated by uncooperative witnesses, lack of evidence, and a perceived lack of diligence among some legal professionals—has meant that many involved in corruption have escaped timely conviction.
Thousands of old cases remain unresolved, while fresh cases are added each year, causing the overall backlog to grow steadily.
In one notable instance, the ACC filed a case on 21 September 2016 against Poritosh Kumar Das, a sub-registrar appointed under the Mujibnagar government's quota, over allegations of forging a freedom fighter and academic certificate.
A charge sheet was submitted in 2017, but the accused subsequently filed a case against the ACC in the High Court. Since then, at least 180 hearings have been deferred, and the matter remains unresolved eight years later.
Similarly, in 2016, a case was filed against another sub-registrar, Minati Das, on similar charges.
Her case has seen 151 adjournments and is currently out of the cause list, with no resolution in sight.
Das remains posted at the Pallabi Sub-Registry Office in Dhaka.
According to ACC figures, 4,331 cases are currently pending in the Supreme Court—3,726 in the High Court and 605 in the Appellate Division.
Additionally, 3,407 cases are pending in courts across the country, of which 3,066 are ACC cases and 341 date back to the now-defunct Bureau of Anti-Corruption.
Proceedings in 236 of these cases have been stayed by the High Court, leaving 2,830 actively under trial.
In December 2024, the number of pending Supreme Court cases stood at 4,279—3,701 in the High Court and 578 in the Appellate Division.
The number of lower court cases was 3,410, including 3,066 ACC cases, indicating little to no change over the past year. Only three legacy Bureau cases have been resolved in that period.
A year earlier, in 2023, the number of Supreme Court cases stood at 4,641—4,018 in the High Court and 623 in the Appellate Division—while 3,353 cases were pending in the lower courts.
At that time, 426 cases had been stayed, leaving 2,927 active trials.
Overall, the volume of cases filed annually by the ACC continues to outpace their resolution.
According to ACC data, only 1.20% of cases were resolved in January and February of this year.
The total disposal rate stood at 14.79% in 2024 and 15.43% in 2023, underscoring the growing gap between filings and final verdicts.
