Staff Reporter :
Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain on Thursday said trial proceedings of cases involving family affairs of women and children should be conducted on camera in order to avoid embarrassing or difficult situations.
The women involved in such cases are often insulted and harassed when they cross-examined by opposition lawyers with different types of questions during trial proceedings before family courts, he said.
The chief justice made the remark while presiding over a full bench of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court during hearing of some women and children affairs related cases.
Asked about the chief justice’s comment, Deputy Attorney General Bishwajit Debnath told the media that the remark was made about all relevant cases involving women and children – not about any specific case.
There are some decisions in the High Court verdicts on this issue, he said.
Section 11 (1) of the Family Courts Ordinance, 1985 says, “A Family Court may, if it so deems fit, hold the whole or any part of the proceedings under this Ordinance in camera.”
Section 11 (2) of the same ordinance sates, “Where both the parties to the suit request the Court to hold the proceedings in camera, the Court shall do so.”
Elsewhere, a High Court bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim and Justice Mohiuddin Shamim asked the lawyers to be careful while placing arguments on rape cases that are conducted at their residences through virtual system.
The bench said lawyers should remain isolated from other family members while virtually conducting such cases as abusive words and languages are used in rape cases.
The court made the remark during hearing bail petitions filed by accused of some rape and violation cases.
Meanwhile, a High Court bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah observed that video recording incidents of rape and torture on women and uploading them on social media has become a trend.
There is a law called the Pornography Control Act, 2012 in order to prevent such acts but it is not clear how many offenders were punished under this law, the bench said.
The bench said this while hearing a voluntary rule issued in connection with an incident of a gang rape and torture of a woman in Noakhali’s Begumganj from social media.
