Staff Reporter :
Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain insisted on quick disposal of cases related to rape of women and children in the country.
“Rape is a heinous crime. Rapist could be punished if the testimonies of women or children appear to be trustworthy. All-out efforts should be given for quick disposal of such cases,” he said while speaking at an opinion-sharing virtual meeting in Dhaka on Saturday.
The Inquiry Committee of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) organised the meeting to discuss how to prevent violence against and rape of women and children.
The opinion-sharing meeting was virtually attended by 249 participants including District and Sessions Judges from all 64 districts of the country, judges from all the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunals, Chief Judicial Magistrates and Chief Metropolitan Magistrates.
With National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Nasima Begum in the chair, the meeting was attended by NHRC Member Dr Kamal Uddin Ahmed, Law and Justice Division Secretary Md Golam Sarwar, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Secretary Md Mainul Kabir and UNDP Resident Representative Sudeep Mukherjee, among others.
Jesmine Ara Begum, Convener of the Inquiry Committee of the NHRC, presented the activities of the committee in her address of welcome.
The judges made their valuable opinions on how to reduce the incidents related to rape and torture of women and children in the country, and explained the obstacles to try such cases.
Addressing the judges, the Chief Justice said: “The court should not be influenced by any quarter when holding trial of rape cases. We have been giving maximum efforts to get rid of allegations of delayed justice or denied justice. It is also undesirable to waste time during the delivery of judgements. If necessary, victims will have to be compensated. The court should be careful so that the innocent is not punished and the culprit is not relieved.”
NHRC Chairman Nasima Begum said, “We’ve witnessed quick delivery of judgement in Nusrat rape and murder case, which was very laudable. But, the verdict hasn’t implemented yet.”
