DHAKA TRIBUNE
Juris
5
Thursday, November 28, 2013
How to execute an affidavit
HUMOUR
BIGSTOCK
n RaisuL Islam Sourav
A
ffidavit means a sworn statement in writing made especially under oath or on affirmation before an authorised magistrate or officer. By executing an affidavit the executor takes the responsibility of truthfulness of his/her statement. If in any future occasion it is proved that the statement was untrue and the executor knowingly or intentionally provided false statement, he/she will be penalised accordingly.
Once somebody admits something by formal declaration, they have no scope to deny the fact later. This is why affidavit is mandatory in some legal processes for some legal documents. If you want to buy, sell or gift a piece of land or an apartment, you will have to do an affidavit regarding your ownership over the property. Moreover, affidavit is required for filing suits, correction of names, religious conversion, etc. It is also mandatory for marriage, divorce and many other sectors specified by law.
How to get it done
To execute an affidavit you will have to write the subject matters on a non-judicial stamp paper. The value of the stamp paper varies with the subject matter. Typically, the value is between Tk150 to Tk500. You also need to affix a copy of your passport size attested photograph on the stamp paper. Once you are done with these, you need to go to a first class magistrate or a notary public, before whom you will have to affirm the matters in writing and sign on the stamp. After scrutinising the documents, the magistrate or notary public will put his signature on the same stamp paper and affix a government special seal along with his official seal on the same paper. Finally he will give the document a number and preserve a photocopy of the document in his office.
Some key points to remember
If you want to get an interim relief in a civil suit, you will have to execute your affidavit before the concerned court officer; in that case no photograph is required. To submit a written statement against such relief same procedure needs to be followed. In case of land related issues, the affidavit will have to be submitted before the registrar to register the document. Presently, age cannot be changed by a mere affidavit. However, in case of alteration of names a newspaper advertisement is necessary along with an affidavit. It is important to note that a mere affidavit before a magistrate or notary public does not constitute a marriage. Though it is known as court marriage in popular term, but actually it is a mere declaration of a marriage by the parties. It has no legal effect to prove a valid marriage; for a marriage to be valid, it has to be completed according to the rule of religion of the parties concerned. Similarly, in case of divorce, parties must follow exact procedure of law. Finally, an affidavit is regarded as a supplementary evidence to strengthen the claim. By executing an affidavit the executor avow a fact, hence before doing an affidavit one must acquire full knowledge of the fact and describe that fact very carefully. Otherwise, the purpose of affidavit will be defeated and one may lose his/her rights. l
CARTOON BY RIO SHUVO
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The author is an Advocate at Dhaka Judge Court and a Senior Lecturer of the Department of Law at Dhaka International University (DIU). He can be reached at sourav.mollick@gmail.com
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Are our political leaders compliant? The recently amended Code of Conduct for the Guidance of Political Parties and Candidates, 2008 will help you know the truth didate is nominated by a political party, he/she may use to any person or organisation of his/her constituency either money in favour of any person or group or institution n Abdullah Al Arif the portraits of the head of his/her political party from any fund belonging to any government, semipublicly or privately in the pre-election period.
T
he schedule for the 10th Parliamentary Election has already been declared and we have entered into the pre-election period. The Election Commission has also amended the Code of Conduct for the Guidance of Political Parties and Candidates, 2008 to suit the upcoming national election. The code of conduct is prepared by the Election Commission under the rule-making power given in Section 91B of the Representation of the People Ordinance (RPO), 1972.
Pre-election period
e) f)
The size of the portrait shall not exceed 60centimetre × 45centimetre The size of any election symbol used by any contesting candidate shall not exceed 3metres in length, width and height
Subscription, donation etc to any person/organisation is prohibited
Any candidate or any other person on his/her behalf shall not offer or promise to offer any subscription, donation, etc
Approval of public projects, unveiling of plaques, etc are prohibited a)
b)
During the pre-election period no candidate shall approve, declare approval, lay foundation stone for or unveil plaque of any development or revenue projects of government in any government, semi-government or autonomous organisation. In the pre-election period no government VIPs shall declare any donation, grant any fund, or release any
Pre-election period means the time between the announcement of the election schedule and the publication of election results in the official gazette.
government or autonomous institution.
Election campaign by government VIPs a)
b)
c)
VIPs of the government
No government VIPs shall combine their official visit with electioneering work. No government VIPs shall use government vehicles, transmission equipment, or exploit any other government facilities for the purpose of election campaign for himself or on behalf of any other person. In addition, government VIPs shall not employ any personnel of any government, semi government or autonomous institution, or any teacher, officer or staff of any government, semi government or autonomous educational institution. No contesting candidate shall preside over any government-funded development activities or attend any such meeting. No contesting candidate holding a position of president or member of any educational institution, or any other person nominated by him holding such position shall preside over or attend any meeting of such institution, or engage himself with any activities of such institution. No government VIPs, not being an agent for himself or any other person, shall enter into the poll center or being present in the vote counting room of a poll centre. In case of parliamentary election of a constituency where the seat is vacant, no government VIPs shall go to that place for visit or electioneering works during the pre-election period. Provided that if any government VIP is a voter of the concerned constituency, he/ she may go there only to exercise his/her voting right.
Prime minister, speaker of the parliament, ministers, chief whip, deputy speaker, leader of the opposition, deputy chief of the parliament, deputy chief of the opposition, deputy ministers, state ministers, whips, members of the parliament and mayors of the city corporations will be considered very important persons (VIPs) of the government. Here are some salient features of the code of conduct for our readers:
d)
Commencement of election campaign
f)
Posters, banners, portraits and symbols used in election campaigns
Penalty for the violation of the code of conduct
e)
No political party, nominated candidate or independent candidate or any other person on their behalf shall not commence any election campaign prior to three weeks from the prescribed date of the election.
a)
b) c) d)
The posters and banners used in the election campaign shall be in black and white The size of the posters shall not exceed 60centimetre × 45centimetre The size of the banners shall not exceed 3metre × 1metre No candidate shall use symbols and portraits of any person other than his/her own. However, in case the can-
BIGSTOCK
If any candidate or any other person on his behalf violates any provision of this code of conduct during the pre-election period, he/she will be punished with imprisonment which may extend to six months or a fine which may extend to Tk50,000. If any political party violates any provision of this code of conduct, it shall be liable to a fine which may extend to Tk50,000. l