DHAKA: The High Court gave a seven-point directive to judges of the tribunals concerned to finish the trails of the cases filed for murder after rape within stipulated time on priority basis. 

The bench of justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mustafijur Rahman gave the directives after hearing bail petitions filed by three rape accused in separate cases.

Firstly, it directed the judges of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunals across the country to dispose of cases filed for rape and murder after rape in 180 days of the trials.

The court, then, asked the tribunal judges to hold continuous hearing of the cases on every working day under the section 20 of Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000.

Thirdly, the HC bench also directed to form a monitoring committee, comprises of additional district magistrate, additional superintendent of police (administration), a representative of the civil surgeon and the public prosecutor of the tribunal, in every district in order to ensure the presence of the witnesses and their security at the court during the hearings.

The public prosecutors of the tribunals will be coordinators of the monitoring committees and send the reports on its activities to the Supreme Court and the ministries of home and law, justice and parliamentary affairs.

Forth: Monitoring committees have to be accountable if the state failed to produce the witnesses before the court sans valid reason on the hearing days.

Fifth, the monitoring committees will observe whether summons are issued on the witnesses at the earliest possible times.

Sixth, the tribunal will recommend for departmental action against the official witnesses like magistrate, police, doctor, and other experts if they do not appear before it without showing any proper reason and even halting their salaries if necessary.

Seventh, the court opined that a law is required to be formulated immediately in order to ensure security of the witnesses and it also hoped that the government will formulate the law within shorter time.

After hearing the bail petitions, the court rejected bail to accused in the case filed for raping a class-III girl in Bogura on June 28 last year and another accused in the case filed for raping a class-VIII girl at Shanir Akhra in Dhaka on March 17 last year.

Besides, the HC bench granted bail to an accused in rape case filed on October 11, 2017.

BDST: 1757 HRS, JULY 18, 2019
RS/SMS