Case Number: Writ Petition No.1676 of 2003

Home 9 PIL Cases 9 Case Number: Writ Petition No.1676 of 2003

Date of filing: 2003/02/09

Petitioners

1. Bangladesh Legal Aid and Service Trust (BLAST)

2. Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK)

Respondents

Bangladesh and Others

Facts

BLAST and Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) filed a writ petition on 9.2.2003 based on a news report published in the Daily ProthomAlo on 04.01.2003 alleging detention of more than 400 children and juveniles in Dhaka Central Jail and 1200 children in 65 prisons across Bangladesh, in complete disregard of the provisions of the Children Act, 1974. Based on the report, the High Court had earlier issued a Suo Moto Rule on 04.01.2003 directing the Inspector General of Prisons to submit a report by 05.02.2003, which was submitted on 03.02.2003. These children were reportedly arrested before strikes and other political events and implicated in cases filed under the Arms Act, 1878, the Narcotics Control Act, 1990 or the Explosive Substance Act, 1908 without any reference to their age in the First Information Report. Since the submission of a report regarding age of the minor accused was delayed, they remained detained in jail with adult prisoners for indefinite periods. The Attorney General repeatedly appeared in the matter and submitted that a high-powered committee under the name of “Juvenile Criminal Justice System Monitoring Cell” had been formed to ameliorate the situation and that the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Social Welfare and Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs had been asked to take favourable steps to that end.

Rule/Order/Judgment

Date: 09/04/2004

Details

The High Court issued a Rule directing the respondents to:

Ensure completion of the trials, if any, of juvenile offenders with the utmost expedition
Consider making a prayer to the Courts concerned for discharging any juvenile accused in appropriate cases (Section 82 and 83 of the Penal Code, 1860 and Section 53 of the Children Act, 1974)
Consider withdrawal prosecutions against juveniles accused under Section 494 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898
Instruct Legal Aid Committees to move the Court for bail
Separate juveniles from adults
Appoint non-official jail visitors to include human rights and child rights organizations

Ensure expeditious transfer of juveniles to correctional homes and approved homes in appropriate cases.

Justices

Mr Justice Mohammad Anowarul Haque

Mr Justice Akram Hossain Chowdhury

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Area of law

Life,
Safeguards on Arrest,
Liberty

Keywords

Children in Fetter’s Case

Relevant statute

Constitution, Articles 31, 35 and 37;

Children Act, 1974;