Justice delayed is justice denied

The slow progress of cases filed under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act is concerning. Reportedly, as of March 31 this year, the total number of pending cases under this Act stood at 1,48,314. Among them, 35,262 cases have remained unresolved in courts across the country for over five years. While according to the law, the trials of such cases should be completed within 180 days, this rarely happens. Legal experts attribute the failure to meet the stipulated timeframe to multiple factors, including the prosecution's lack of sincerity in pursuing trials, witnesses refusing to appear in court due to fear or intimidation, and accused individuals moving to the High Court to stay trial proceedings. It goes without saying that such inefficiencies within our justice system will only increase gender-based violence in the country.

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Remove obstacles to rape investigation and trial

Reportedly, a special cell was established in accordance with a 2016 High Court directive around four years ago to monitor cases filed under the Act. As per the directive, the cell is supposed to be led by the Supreme Court registrar general or the registrar of the High Court Division, who would oversee trial timeframes and periodically submit reports to the authorities for appropriate action. Unfortunately, the cell is currently non-operational. An alarming example of delays in case proceedings is the case involving the rape of a nine-year-old schoolgirl in Dhaka's Khilkhet area, which was filed more than nine years ago. Reportedly, the tribunal dealing with the case is yet to complete the trial even after holding 96 hearings. The key reason behind this is that six of the 10 prosecution witnesses in the case did not appear before the court to testify. Not only in this case, witnesses failing to appear before courts leads to unnecessary delays in resolving numerous cases. To ensure justice for victims of rape and other forms of gender-based violence, authorities must take immediate steps to provide protection to witnesses, as their testimony is crucial in securing fair and timely trials.

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Time to form a commission on sexual crimes

After assuming office, the interim government pledged to expedite rape case trials by amending relevant laws. We would like to know the update on this. Currently, 101 tribunals are dealing with the cases under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, which is not enough given the staggering number of cases being filed and remaining pending with the courts. We therefore urge the government to set up more tribunals to speed up the trials. Legal experts advocate for a separate secretariat under the Supreme Court to ensure effective implementation of directives from the Appellate Division and the High Court. In rape trials, forensic examination results must promptly reach investigation officers, for which more forensic labs should be set up urgently. The authorities must also overhaul the entire investigation process to ensure quick case disposal. Meanwhile, the existing laws should be properly enforced to effectively protect women and children from gender-based violence.