DHAKA, Aug 3, 2026 (BSS) - The Cabinet today gave in-principle and final approval to the draft of the Prevention and Remedies for Enforced Disappearance Act, 2026, recognising enforced disappearance as a distinct criminal offence with provisions for life imprisonment and fines. 

The Cabinet also gave in-principle and final approval to the draft of Transfer of Property (Amendment) Act, 2026 to allow donors to retain lifetime use of gifted property, and endorsed a proposal to repeal the Essential Medicines List 2026 and the Drug Pricing Method 2026 to facilitate their revision in line with legal requirements. 

The decisions were taken at the 15th Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Cabinet Room of the Bangladesh Secretariat today, said a press release. 

The draft law, proposed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, provides for life imprisonment and fines for the offence of enforced disappearance. 

However, if the disappearance results in death, if a body is recovered, or if the disappeared person remains untraced for five years, the punishment may extend to death or life imprisonment along with a fine of up to Taka one crore.

In the Law, enforced disappearance has been recognised as a distinct, cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable criminal offence aimed at upholding human rights, human dignity, individual liberty and the rule of law. 

The proposed law aims to establish a comprehensive legal framework for preventing enforced disappearances, prosecuting those responsible, tracing disappeared persons, and ensuring the rights, compensation and rehabilitation of victims and their families.

The law also incorporates provisions for court-issued search warrants to rescue disappeared persons, trial in absentia, admissibility of digital evidence, and protection of witnesses, complainants, whistle-blowers and victims.

It recognises the right of victims and their families to know the progress of investigations and the fate or whereabouts of disappeared persons. The draft also provides for legal aid, medical treatment, rehabilitation and a compensation fund, with compensation recoverable from the property of convicted persons or, where that is not possible, payable by the state.

Besides, the proposed law allows the spouse and dependent family members of a disappeared person to use the person's property to meet their maintenance and necessary expenses. It also provides for the issuance of a disappearance certificate after five years to facilitate the distribution of property among legal heirs, mandates the preservation of a central database, and includes provisions for international cooperation in disappearance-related cases. 

The draft stipulates that investigations and trials must each be completed within a maximum of 120 days.

The draft Transfer of Property (Amendment) Act, 2026, proposed by the Law and Justice Division, introduces a provision allowing donors to retain lifetime usufruct rights over gifted property, enabling parents or grandparents to transfer property to their children or grandchildren while retaining the legal right to use and enjoy it during their lifetime.

The meeting also approved a proposal to repeal the Essential Medicines List 2026 and the Drug Pricing Method 2026, as they had been formulated without the mandatory consultation with the National Drug Advisory Council required under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 2023.

The Cabinet also approved the inclusion of the Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services in the National Drug Advisory Council.

Despite the repeal, the Essential Medicines List introduced under a 1994 order of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the existing government drug pricing mechanism will remain in force until an updated list is prepared. The government also decided to update the list and ensure that future drug prices do not impose an additional burden on consumers while maintaining healthy market competition.