Last year, the country witnessed a political change. Since then, some reckless individuals have been resorting to filing unjust cases under the guise of seeking justice.
In particular, most of these cases involve serious charges such as murder. It is being observed that people are filing cases against whomever they wish. We do not claim that all the accused in these cases are innocent.
However, many are beginning to question whether all those who have been accused are truly involved in such serious crimes.
There have been many incidents where the plaintiff does not even know the accused. Gravely ill individuals, those bedridden in hospitals, or those unable to speak due to illness, are also being made accused in these cases — sometimes as the prime accused!
Moreover, in their petitions, plaintiffs often mention “many others,” thereby making ordinary citizens vulnerable as well. The mention of “many others” is not new — it’s a long-standing practice.
This allows the police to arrest anyone and implicate them in any case. Seeing the proliferation of such cases, even the legal adviser has expressed dismay.
In a recent speech on National Legal Aid Day, he said, “There is no restriction in Bangladesh law on filing cases. People are filing cases as they please.
Many of these cases are harassing and vindictive. This is extremely unfortunate and deeply regrettable. After cases are filed, we try to provide various remedies through the police, courts, and administration.
The Home Ministry has repeatedly instructed that no one should be arrested if the allegations lack objectivity.” In light of his remarks, we can sense how much an accused person — whether guilty or innocent — has to suffer, how painful and prolonged the ordeal becomes, something only the victims truly understand.
Not only the legal adviser or the home ministry adviser, but also the officers at the police stations that register these cases, and the local people know the “merit” of these cases!
It is not difficult for anyone to see that these cases are causing suffering to many innocent people alongside the guilty. The existing laws in Bangladesh do provide for punishment for false cases.
Section 250 of the Code of Criminal Procedure clearly states that if a magistrate acquits an accused and finds the complaint to have been false, frivolous, or harassing, they may order the complainant to compensate the innocent person.
Similarly, under Section 211 of the Penal Code, anyone who files a false or harassing case can face up to two years in prison and a fine of up to one lakh taka. But regrettably, those filing such cases seem unaware of these laws.
The courts of Bangladesh are already burdened with hundreds of thousands of pending cases; such frivolous cases only add to the judiciary’s load.
Because of such situations, delays in the delivery of justice are inevitable, making the famous quote by William Ewart Gladstone in the UK House of Commons ring true: “Justice delayed is justice denied.” Therefore, the people want relief from this growing nuisance.
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