The murder and rape case filed with the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-8 over Munia’s death on September 6 is a clear violation of the Constitution. The case was filed violating Article 35 of the Constitution and Article 104 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, said legal experts.
Article-35 of the Constitution of Bangladesh deals with justice and punishment. Article 35 (2) states, “No person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once.” There will only be one case for an offense under this section of the act.
Mosarat Jahan Munia committed suicide at a flat in Gulshan on April 19. Shortly after her death, her sister Nusrat Jahan Tania filed a suicide incitement case.
Since her sister filed a case of incitement to suicide, the police accepted the case and investigated it for three months. Police and medical reports confirmed that Munia committed suicide and there was no other motive behind the suicide.
As police submitted final report to the court, complainant Nusrat filed a naraji petition against the final report. On August 18, the court rejected the petition and exonerated the accused from the incitement charge.
Finally, the allegation about Munia’s death has been settled by accepting the final report of the allegation. According to the Article 35 (2) of the constitution, the complainant has no legal right to file any fresh case after rejection of her first case. However, she can file an appeal with the apex court challenging the lower court’s decision.
Nusrat did not go that way. Rather, she filed another new case against eight persons, including some women, for committing rape and murder. The court took cognizance of the case and directed the PBI to investigate.
But the manner in which one case after another has been orchestrated after Munia's death clearly shows that the lawsuit is being motivated with the intention of trapping a particular person or industrial group. Cases motivated by such intentions are also punishable offenses under the Code of Criminal Procedure.
BDST: 0009 HRS, SEP 11, 2021
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