Some 80 per cent of the cases relating to repression of women and children are false and fabricated, law minister Shafique Ahmed said on Saturday. “We want to make some changes in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc), keeping provisions for mutual disposal of compoundable cases to reduce the number of false ones and the backlog of cases, such as those relating to repression of women and children, and dishonour of cheques,” he said. He made the remarks at a meeting on “Amendment of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898,” organised by the legislative and parliamentary affairs division at the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in the city. Mohammad Shahidul Haque, secretary of the legislative and parliamentary affairs division, was in the chair.
“The delay in disposing of the cases results in injustice to justice seekers. Considering this, we are going to amend some provisions in the CrPc to remove the delay in cases and backlogs,” Shafique Ahmed said. “We want to remove the provisions of the CrPc which are impediments to disposing of cases,” he added.
About the delay in disposing of cases, he said: “The delay in investigation of cases impedes the path of ensuring justice because delay causes problems for the witness and punishment is not meted out to the accused. So, investigation of cases should be completed within 150 days.”
Regarding a separate investigation cell, the minister said: “We have separate investigation cells in some police stations. The disposal of cases will be speedier if separate cells are set up in all police stations.”
Shafique Ahmed also suggested holding pre-trial conference — a provision which is found in many other countries — between both parties to dispose of the cases in accordance with the calendar to get rid of delays.
About undertrial prisoners, he said: “The number of undertrial prisoners is large because of the delay in disposing of cases on time. Even the court cannot keep undertrial prisoners in jail for a long time because of the lengthy trial process.”
Regarding plea bargaining, he said: “If we can create an opportunity for plea bargaining for the accused, it will significantly reduce the number of pending cases.”
About the amendment of the CrPc, he said: “The mode of offence has changed. So the judicial system should also be modernised. Taking this into consideration, the CrPc is being amended.”
The state minister for law, Qamrul Islam, attorney general Mahbubey Alam, secretary of law and justice division ASSM Zahirul Haque, acting inspector general of police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Haque and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country director, Pauline Tamesis, and others also spoke on the occasion.
Qamrul Islam suggested separate investigation cells for ensuring justice and for reducing the backlog of cases. “Justice cannot be ensured without separate cells. If the police are engaged both in controlling law and order and investigating cases, it will not be possible to submit the chargesheet with 150 days,” he said.
He also said that 80 per cent of cases relating to women’s repression and dowry are false and fabricated, which cause a backlog. Such cases should be disposed of in a mutual way, he added.
About false cases, he said: “The propensity to file false cases should be stopped, as we find in the USA and Canada. In Bangladesh, 80 per cent cases are disposed of without any punishment of the accused as the cases are false. However, it does not happen in other countries, as there is no scope to approach the courts with false allegations.”
“Provision No. 211 of the CrPc should be amended so that no one can file false cases. If anyone does so, the person should be brought for trial. Such a provision will reduce the backlog of cases,” he opined.
Regarding trial by the media, Qamrul Islam said: “Media trial should be stopped to ensure justice. Otherwise, justice will not be established and people would be deprived of justice.” He also suggested that guidelines be framed for the media as to how much of a case should be made public.
Qamrul Islam further said that the government is working to stop the culture of impunity and does not tamper with the judiciary for ensuring justice.
Attorney general Mahbubey Alam said prevalence of women’s repression in society has increased due to their financial hardships and because of patriarchal attitudes.
“It is necessary to ban second marriage of the husband by law to stop repression against women. If this tendency of second marriage is banned by law, the sufferings of women will be reduced. But the reality is that women are so poor financially that they cannot approach the courts,” he observed.
“If legal steps are not taken in such matters, repression against women will not be reduced. Repression of women means repression of children. So steps should be taken to stop violence against women,” he said.
Mahbubey Alam also suggested that amendments in the provisions of the CrPc should be made regarding the opportunity of victims to appeal to the court.
On June 12, law minister Shafique Ahmed told Parliament that a total of 3,22,040 cases is pending with the higher court, while 6,81,307 civil cases and 3,86,660 criminal cases are pending with the lower courts across the country.
“A total of 6,13,014 cases under judicial magistracy and 2,10,860 cases under metropolitan magistracy are under trial,” the law minister further said.
The government has taken several initiatives for speedy disposal of pending cases in the lower courts, the law minister said, adding: “A monitoring cell on quick disposal of criminal cases has been formed under the leadership of the solicitor of the law and judiciary division.”
“Besides, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is mandatory to dispose of civil cases quickly,” he said.
The law minister further said: “The appellate division of the Supreme Court has settled a total of 10,475 cases, the High Court division has settled 2,23,081 cases, while the lower courts have settled 28,84,133 cases during the tenure of the present government.”
-With The Independent input
