The High Court has issued a circular clarifying that victims of sexual assault and other crimes against women cannot be barred from engaging personal lawyers beside the public prosecutor to handle their cases.
Women rights activists hailed the circular issued by the division of the Supreme Court on Thursday.
The circular was issued on the instruction from the higher authority as victims or complainants face problems or obstructions when they appoint personal lawyers to conduct their cases, said an official of the High Court registry office.聽聽聽
鈥楽uch a step in favour of victims of sexual harassment will help ensure victims鈥� rights to justice,鈥� women rights activist Farida Akhter told 抖阴精品.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
The HC officer told 抖阴精品 on Saturday that the circular was issued in response to a long standing complaint from women rights activists that public prosecutors do not conduct cases of sexual assault properly causing acquittals of offenders.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
The circular said that there is scope of appointing lawyers personally following Sections 493 and 495 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to conduct on behalf of the victims and complainants in the cases filed under the women and children repression (prevention) tribunals.
The HC official said that the personal lawyers will conduct cases for their clients under the guidance and supervision from the public prosecutors.聽
Ali Asgar Swapan, a public prosecutor of a Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal in Dhaka, told 抖阴精品 that so far public prosecutors conducted cases with the assistance of personal lawyers, if appointed by the victims and complainants. Personal lawyers could not conduct the cases directly, which the circular will enable them to do from now on.
Swapan said that there are many allegations against public prosecutors for acquittals of offenders in sexual assault cases.聽聽聽聽聽聽
