Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Wednesday declared the conviction of the children by the mobile courts run by the Executive Magistrates as ‘illegal’.
At the same time the court declared unlawful and void the conviction of the 121 children by the mobile courts of RAB for the jail terms of six months to one year from May 3 to August 10 last year.
In the observation, the HC said this kind of conviction is not only illegal and unlawful, but also inhumanity to the final dimension.
This kind of conviction has exposed the appearance of a parallel judicial system that is contrary to conventional law and Constitution of the country, said the court in the observation. It has been proved by this verdict that the 121 children were innocent, added the court.
The HC bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Md Mahmud Hassan Talukder delivered the verdict after declaring a rule absolute.
The same HC bench on October 31 last year issued the rule on a Suo Moto (voluntary) move following a news report published in a Bengali daily on the same day.
In the rule, the court wanted to know from the concerned authorities of the government as to why the conviction of the children by the mobile courts should not be declared illegal.
According to the report, mobile courts of RAB had jailed 121 children from six months to one year from May 3 to August 10 last year and they had been kept in the Children Development Centres in Jashore and Tongi.
Among them, 28 are 17 years old, 26 are 16 years, 20 are 15 years, 16 are 14 years and 11 are 12 years, 7 are 13 years, 12 are in age between 8 to 11 and one’s age is not mentioned.
Barrister Md Abdul Halim and Advocate Ishrat Hasan placed the newspaper report before the High Court bench for necessary orders.
Secretaries of home, law, public administration, social welfare and women and children, director general of RAB, caretakers of children development centres in Jashore and Tongi, director general of department of social services, executive magistrate Md Akhteruzzaman of RAB headquarters and other respondents have been asked to comply with the rule.
After the verdict, Barrister Md Abdul Halim said that authorities concerned must release the 121 children immediately from jail and also from the charges.
