BLAST proposes to include 3 provisions in Evidence Act

Staff Reporter :
The Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), a rights organisation, has suggested the government to include three provisions in the Evidence Act and repeal a Section of the law to block all avenues of questioning the character of rape victims in court.
The organisation has handed over the proposal in writing to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law Ministry on November 17 last year and on March 10, requesting it to bring a bill on this issue in the Parliament for amending the law.
In the proposal, BLAST said the female rape victims have to face derogatory and unnecessary questions with previous character and sexual experience in the open court because of some provisions of the Evidence Act.
Therefore, the victims lose interest in getting justice and the accused persons cannot be brought to trial and even the offence cannot be proved absolutely, it said.
BLAST suggested including a subsection to each of Sections 53(A), 146(3) and 150(A) of the Evidence Act.
Mahbuba Akhter, Deputy Director (Advocacy and Communications) of the

BLAST, said they will again request the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law Ministry to consider their suggestions and to place a bill on the relevant amendments of the law in the Parliament.  
Shahiduzzaman Sarker, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law Ministry, said the committee is yet to analyze the suggestions given by BLAST.
“The cabinet has already approved in principle the Evidence (Amendment) Act 2022. We will study and discuss the suggestions made by BLAST when we will officially sit in the meeting. If the suggestions of BLSAT are relevant, we will include them in the amendment bill,” he said.
Earlier on November 14 in 2021, BLAST and two other rights organisations filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging the legality of two Sections of the Evidence Act that allow questioning the “character” of rape victims.
Three rights organizsations, BLAST, Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) and Nari Pakkho, submitted the petition as a public interest litigation seeking cancellation of Sections 155(4) and 146(3) of the Evidence Act, 1872.
The petitioners sought a ruling upon the respondents to explain as to why the sections 155(4) and 146(3) of the Evidence Act, 1872, should not be declared to be unconstitutional being in violation of the fundamental rights to equality, freedom from discrimination on the ground of sex to be treated in accordance with law as guaranteed by the Atricles 27, 28, 31 and 32 of the Constitution.
During the hearing on the writ petition on November 16, Attorney General AM Amin Uddin informed the High Court that the government has taken a decision to scrap the concerned Sections of the Evidence Act that allow questioning the “character” of rape victims.
Then the court asked the Attorney General to submit a report containing the government steps taken in this regard to the court as an affidavit. However, the matter yet to come into the cause-list for further hearing.