Meanwhile, acting on a directive of the ministry concerned, Chittagong Metropolitan Police yesterday suspended four police personnel for negligence in duty in connection with the case.

A HC Division bench comprising Justice AK Badrul Huq and Justice ATM Fazlur Rahman stayed proceedings of the case until disposal of the rule and asked the nine respondents to reply in two weeks why the case will not be quashed.

The nine respondents are the home secretary, inspector general of police, Chittagong deputy commissioner, Chittagong chief metropolitan magistrate, plaintiff Samir Uddin, officer-in-charge (OC) of Chittagong Kotwali Police Station, Sub-inspector (SI) Jahid of the police station, investigation officer (IO) of the case and jailer of Chittagong Central Jail.

The bench also directed four of them to appear in person in the court on March 8 to explain why punitive actions would not be taken against them. The four to appear are the Kotwali Police Station OC, SI Jahid, the IO and complainant Samir Uddin.

The suo moto was issued after Barrister Rabia Bhuiyan, Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun and Sheikh Akhtarul Islam had brought the case filed against four minor children to the attention of the court.

Rabia also submitted a written petition for the children, demanding the case to be quashed and the respondents punished.

Samir filed the case on February 6 against 11 members of the neighbouring family of Chittaranjan Nath, 52, including a dead person and four children -- seven-month-old Bijoy Nath, 11-month-old Hridoy Nath, 18-month-old Dhananjay Nath alias Durjoy Nath and two-year-old Sagar Nath.

The plaintiff accused Chittaranjan and his family of ransacking and looting his house following a dispute over land on Gopal Singha Lane at Nandan Kanan in the port city.

Kotwali police arrested Sagar and his mother Minoti and sent them to jail immediately after the case had been filed with Kotwali Police Station. They were release on bail on February 16.

Parents produced the four children before the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate, Chittagong last Monday for bail.

SUSPENSION OF COPS
Our staff correspondent in Chittagong reports: The four police personnel suspended yesterday for negligence in duty in connection with the criminal case accusing a dead and four kids were IO SI Zahidul Islam, Record Officer SI Shahjahan, GRO Abu Hanif Sheikh and Court SI Abdul Matin.

The higher authorities of Chittagong Metropolitan Police took the decision on a directive of the ministry concerned, sources said.

The incident of accusing children in a criminal case triggered a wide range of criticism and resentment in the port city yesterday with demands raised for measures to stop repetition of such anomalies.

A number of rights and legal aid organisations alleged the children act is being not properly followed in the judicial system, particularly during preparation and filing of first information reports (FIRs) and charge sheets by police.

The organisation leaders demanded that registration of the ages of both the plaintiffs and the accusees in the FIRs be made obligatory.

They also demanded stern actions against the persons responsible for framing the case whose bail petition was heard last Monday.

Leaders of Chittagong district unit of Bangladesh Society for Enforcement of Human Rights (BSEHR), Save the Children, UK, and Community Development Centre (Codec) in a joint press-statement last evening expressed deep concern at the incident of charging children, terming it a 'non-sense act'.