Writ Petition No. 1341 of 2000

High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh

Facts: BLAST, along with a convict under the Nari o Shishu Nirjatan (Bishesh Bidhan) Ain, 1995, Alamgir Hossain, filed a writ petition challenging the judgment and order of sentence and conviction passed by the Nari o Shishu Nirjatan Daman Bishesh Adalat (Suppression of Violence Against Women and Children Tribunal), Comilla. The convict petitioner had been sentenced to imprisonment and fine under Section 5 (Kha) and 5 (Gha) of the Act after the Tribunal came to a conclusive decision that the age of the accused was aged 14-15 at the time of trial.

Argument: The petitioners argued that because the age of the accused was 14-15 years at the time of the trial, the Tribunal had been coram non-judice and the Juvenile Court had exclusive jurisdiction to try the case under the Children Act, 1974. The Tribunal, after determining the age of the accused, had acted ultra vires in trying and sentencing him, making the trial and conviction bad in law and void ab initio. Moreover, the conviction was solely based on an uncorroborated confessional statement, which the convict had alleged was obtained by coercion.

Order: The High Court held that the trial had been held without jurisdiction and without lawful authority and that therefore the impugned judgment and order of conviction were void ab initio. The Court ordered the respondents to release the convict forthwith and also directed the authorities to take due care in conducting the cases of juvenile offenders under the Children Act. It also directed the respondents to send a copy of the judgment to all Deputy Commissioners for onward transmission to government officials.

Laws Cited: The Children Act, 1974; The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898

Status: Judgment delivered