More than 1.5 lakh cases of violence against women and children are now pending with lower courts concerned across the country. Of these, about 33,000 cases have been pending for more than five years, Supreme Court sources said.
Although there is a special provision as well as the High Court's directive for disposing of cases under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act within 180 days, the directive is hardly followed, a high official of the Supreme Court citing anonymity said.
Currently, a total of 101 Women and Children Repression Tribunals are dealing with these cases across the country. The Judicial Service Association, an organization of judges, has demanded for increasing the number of tribunals by 200 for speedy disposal of these cases.
According to the Supreme Court, as of December 31 last year, a total of 151,317 cases of violence against women and children were pending in courts across the country for disposal. Of these, a total of 15,213 were in the nine Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunals in Dhaka.
A total of 32,972 cases were pending for more than five years in various courts for disposal while the trial proceedings of 1,607 cases were stayed the High Court, sources added.
Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Salma Ali, also advisor to the Bangladesh National Women's Lawyers' Association (BNWLA), said that in addition to increasing the number of tribunals, skilled prosecutions should be appointed to dispose of cases quickly.
There should be coordination and goodwill between the investigating officer, prosecutions and judges. Accountability of all concerned should be ensured.
"If the trial is delayed, evidence is often destroyed. Therefore, the trial proceedings of these cases must be continued on every working day in accordance with the law," she said.
Section 20(2) of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act states that once a case is heard in the tribunal, it shall continue continuously on every working day until it is concluded. Section 20(3) states that the trial must be completed within 180 days from the date of receipt of the case.
Meanwhile, the interim government has amended the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act to expedite the trial of rape cases after the death of a rape victim in Magura. The gazette of the amendment was published on March 25.
The amended law, in Section 20 (3A), states that the trial of rape cases under this section must be completed within 90 working days from the date of filing the complaint in the tribunal.
Currently, there are 101 Women and Child Abuse Prevention Tribunals across the country. On average, about 1,500 cases are pending in each tribunal. The judges of these tribunals also have to perform the duties of judges of the Children's Court and Human Trafficking Crime Tribunal in addition to cases under this act.
When asked, Supreme Court Special Officer Moazzem Hossain said, "The number of tribunals is less compared to the cases. We are working on the issue. A letter will be sent to the Law Ministry from the Supreme Court in this regard soon."
Meanwhile, the Judicial Service Association said in a statement on March 13 that one of the reasons for the prolonged trial process of women and child abuse cases is the lack of adequate Women and Child Abuse Prevention Tribunals viz-a-viz the number of cases. The statement demanded the formation of at least 200 more tribunals considering the number of existing cases.
When asked, Judicial Service Association Secretary General Muhammad Mazharul Islam said that currently, there are not enough women and child abuse prevention tribunals across the country considering the cases. The judges of these tribunals also have to perform the duties of judges of the children's court and human trafficking crime tribunal.
Again, a sufficient number of staff posts have not been created in the tribunals. As a result, the country's tribunals are not able to work as expected. A sufficient number of tribunals must be formed in the interest of speedy trial of violence against women and children, he added.
The witnesses sometimes in some cases of women and children repression withdrew themselves because of the prolonged trial process, which also disrupts the trial, he noted.
Rights activists also called to dispose of the cases filed over violence against women and children within shortest possible time and formulate policy as per the High Court's directive to prevent sexual harassment.
Zeenat Ara Haque, chief executive officer of We Can Bangladesh, also demanded to ensure security, treatment, and compensation to victims and their families during the trial proceedings of the cases.
