Abdul Latif vs State (2009) 14 BLC 784

Fact:

Runa a girl aged 5/6 years, was raped. The accused Abdul Latif was sentenced to life imprisonment by the court. Here the accused appealed to the honorable court under section 6(1) of the Nari-O-Shishu Niraton Daman (Bishes Bidhan Ain),1995 that there is no strong evidence against him. So he should have the right to get justice.

Issue:

Can Abdul Latif be released under section 6(1) of the Nari-O-Shishu Niraton Daman (Bishes Bidhan Ain),1995? If so, then how can he be released?

Decision:

Runa a 5/6 years old girl was raped by accused Abdul Latif. Such an allegation was brought by the father of the girl. In this case, the girl was raped on 15/08/1995 in an open field around 4.30-5 PM. The girl was injured by several bloods and her elder sister Sheuli was washed her. Here the girl's father lodged a FIR after 21 days of the event. After that Daulatipur Police Station took up an investigation and finally in conclusion they submitted a charge sheet. In the charge sheet, 14 people were made witnesses. During the investigation, Runa was sent to record her statement under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure by the Magistrate of 1st class. After that the record was sent to the Nari-O-Shishu Niraton Special Court and the Judge framed the charge sheet against the accused. In that case, the defense examined none. So the honorable court was satisfied that he(Abdul Latif) was guilty and convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

On the other hand the accused appeal for justice. The defense advocate Abdur Rashid stated some gradients to make release his client. The place where the rape took place was an open field and the time was 4.30-5 PM is day time. So there was light and there were common people. So it is not possible to rape in an open place. Here point to be noted by the defence advocate is that the relationship between the accused and victim was grandfather-grand daughter and they lived beside. The age of the accused was 55 and the victim was an infant of 5/6 years. A medical surgeon examined Runa and find some rape signs like vulval penetration and the defence overruled the claim. Because the injury could be in other ways and the father lodged the FIR after 21 days and in medical science it is not possible to determine the injury. Also with the examination and cross-examination of the witness, it was proved that the accused was innocent and the life imprisonment was set aside.

Written by---
Sha-Ahd Ibne Sharif Prodhan
Department of Land Management and Law
Jagannath University, Dhaka