The government has formed 22 tribunals across several districts and metropolitan areas of Bangladesh in an effort to speed up trials of narcotics-related offences.

The Law Ministry issued a gazette notification on Thursday night establishing the tribunals under Section 44/A of the Narcotics Control Act, 2018.

Each tribunal has been assigned a specific territorial jurisdiction.

FIVE TRIBUNALS FOR DHAKA

One tribunal has been formed for Dhaka district, while four separate tribunals will deal with cases originating from police stations under Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

Dhaka Metropolitan-1 will cover Pallabi, Kafrul, Mirpur, Shah Ali, Darus Salam, Rupnagar, Bhashantek, Tejgaon, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Hatirjheel, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Ramna and Shahbagh police stations.

Dhaka Metropolitan-2 will have jurisdiction over Kalabagan, Dhanmondi, Hazaribagh, New Market, Adabar, Kotwali, Bangshal, Chawkbazar, Lalbagh, Kamrangirchar and Mohammadpur.

Dhaka Metropolitan-3 will cover Motijheel, Shahjahanpur, Paltan, Sabujbagh, Khilgaon, Mugda, Rampura, Demra, Shyampur, Sutrapur, Gandaria, Jatrabari, Kadamtali and Wari.

Dhaka Metropolitan-4 will handle cases from Uttara East, Uttara West, Uttarkhan, Dakkhinkhan, Airport, Turag, Badda, Gulshan, Banani, Bhatara, Cantonment and Khilkhet police stations.

TRIBUNALS IN NARAYANGANJ AND CHATTOGRAM

Two tribunals, Narayanganj-1 and Narayanganj-2, have been formed for Narayanganj.

Chattogram district will have one tribunal, while three additional tribunals—Chattogram Metropolitan-1, Chattogram Metropolitan-2 and Chattogram Metropolitan-3—will serve the Chattogram Metropolitan area.

THREE TRIBUNALS FOR COX’S BAZAR

Three separate tribunals have been designated for Cox’s Bazar.

Cox’s Bazar-1 will cover Teknaf, Kutubdia and Maheshkhali police stations.

Cox’s Bazar-2 will cover Ukhiya, Sadar and Eidgaon.

Cox’s Bazar-3 will have jurisdiction over Ramu, Chakaria, Pekua and Matamuhuri police stations.

TRIBUNALS IN OTHER DISTRICTS

Two tribunals, Cumilla-1 and Cumilla-2, have been formed for Cumilla.

One tribunal each has also been formed for Brahmanbaria, Rajshahi district, Rajshahi Metropolitan area, Bogura, Dinajpur and Jashore districts.

EXISTING CASES TO BE TRANSFERRED

The gazette also sets out how ongoing narcotics cases will move to the newly established tribunals.

Within 60 days from the issuance of the notification, ongoing cases under the Narcotics Control Act, 2018 involving offences carrying a minimum punishment of five years or more are to be transferred from existing courts to the appropriate tribunals.

The transfers will be carried out in accordance with the relevant laws and rules.

Cases will not restart after being transferred. Instead, proceedings will continue from the stage they had reached in the previous court.

The establishment of the 22 tribunals is intended to create a dedicated judicial mechanism for handling serious narcotics offences and accelerate the disposal of pending cases.