The High Court yesterday directed the National Human Rights Commission to submit a written explanation by September 10 as to why it was reluctant to assist a rape victim.
Following a writ petition, the bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Kazi Ejarul Haque Akondo also issued a ruling asking why the NHRC’s inaction should not be declared illegal.
The court issued another ruling asking why the commission’s position that murder, rape and acid violence in private arenas are not violations of human rights, should not be held illegal.
The NHRC chairman and its secretary, and the home secretary were asked to reply to the rulings within four weeks, Abdul Halim, lawyer of petitioner Hasina Aktar, told the Dhaka Tribune.
A case was filed after a girl had fallen victim to rape on August 30 last year. But the accused were freed on bail on February 14 this year. The victim filed applications twice with the NHRC on April 3 and May 18 seeking its assistance to get the certified copy of the bail order.
But the commission did not respond and remained silent about the applications, Halim said.
In its 2011 annual report, the commission stated that if a rape or murder is not committed by a state employee, those offences will not be counted as a violation of human rights, the petitioner’s lawyer said.
