The government should amend the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to punish “ill-motivated” plaintiffs who lodge false cases against innocent people just to harass them, experts said at a views exchange meeting on Saturday.
State Minister for Law Md Quamrul Islam said 95% cases filed under the women repression prevention act are fabricated, and incidents of such cases are increasing day by day.
“The procedure of judgment is becoming slow as the judiciary is busy dissolving false cases,” Quamrul said, addressing the meeting organised by the UNDP.
“Offenders get punished in 100% cases abroad, but in our country only 10-20% offenders get punished as most cases turn out to be false,” he said.
Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said the CrPC from the British era is being amended to prevent unnecessary delays in legal procedures.
“The pattern of committing crimes has changed with time. So, we should update our legal procedures to cope with existing demands,” Shafique said.
He said a provision on resolving women and children repression cases would also be introduced in the CrPC amendment, as most such cases are falsely reported.
“People will not get any benefit out of the CrPC amendment until the incidents of filing false cases decreases,” Shafique said.
He also recommended forming separate investigation cells and appointing separate investigating officers.
“We can settle cases on trivial matters outside of court by arranging [arbitration] sessions inside the police station,” Shafique said. He also suggested arranging pre-trial meetings to fix hearing dates and number of witnesses.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam advised banning the provision of second marriage in the new amendment.
Acting IGP AKM Shahidul Haque sought 15 days for submitting a written recommendation in this regard.