HC orders steps against arbitration caning
Courtesy New Age 26/8/09
Shahiduzzaman
The High Court on Tuesday ordered the government, law enforcers and local government bodies to take immediate measures against issuance or execution of extrajudicial penalties such as beating and caning in the name of arbitration, mediation or conciliation.
The High Court bench of Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice Quamrul Islam Siddique also ordered them to provide the victims of such extra-legal penalties with security and protection.
The court asked the government and the inspector general of police to explain their failure to act in time and to comply with their legal and constitutional duties in taking effective measures to prevent the imposition and execution of extra-legal penalties.
The court also asked the government to explain why it would not be directed to frame and adopt guidelines and orders for all authorities concerned to report any information on the occurrence or likely occurrence of any such incident of extrajudicial penalties by any people or bodies, including union councils or municipal representatives, in the name of arbitration, mediation and conciliation.
The court also wanted to know why the government and others concerned would not be directed to disseminate the guidelines and orders on Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar.
In the interim order, the court asked the government, law enforcement agencies, union councils and municipalities to take immediate measures to investigate promptly any report of issuance or execution of any extrajudicial punishment such as beating or caning.
The court also ordered the local government ministry to inform all union councils and municipalities of the order.
The court passed the orders after hearing a public interest litigation writ petition filed by rights groups Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, Ain o Salish Kendra, BRAC and Nijera Kori.
Sara Hossain and Rabia Bhuiyan with Masuda Rehana Rosy, Taufiqul Islam and Nusrat Jahan moved the writ petition. Deputy attorney general Razik al Jalil appeared for the state.
Moving the petition, Sara argued the government failed to prevent the imposition of extrajudicial penalties.
Such penalties are unconstitutional and in violation of fundamental rights and the right to be free from cruel and degrading or inhuman treatment or punishment, she said.
She also said people in separate incidents had been executing punishment by beating and caning in the name of mediation, conciliation and arbitration.
She cited some reports of women and men being subject to extrajudicial punishment such as caning in rural arbitration, often in the presence of or with the participation of members or chairmen of union councils and municipalities.
The petition described incidents in June where a woman and a man were caned 101 times by the order of village elders at Nabiganj in Habiganj in arbitration in the presence of a chairman and a woman being caned 101 times at Srimangal in Moulvibazar for talking with a man of other faith.
It also described incidents in June where a woman in Sirajganj was caned 100 times and fined for filing a complaint of rape with a court of justice and a woman being caned in public in August after refusing a relative’s sexual advances.
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