Law Lab
Law Lab
Precedent

Revisional application by third party; High Court interfered

31 January 2022

On 25th August 2020, a report was published in Daily Prothom Alo that left many astound. An abducted-dead-girl returned to her family in Narayanganj after 49 days since disappearance. In the meantime, police lodged a criminal proceeding and arrested three persons suspect of being involved with the incident. They also confessed before the concerned Magistrate and portrayed a vivid description as to how they abducted the girl, raped her and left the dead body in Shitalakshya River. That girl returned! Law Lab decided to bring the matter to the notice of the High Court Division but it is not any party to the proceeding. As such, a question was likely to arise that can a third party south intervention of the High Court Division in revisional jurisdiction? We conducted meticulous research on this point and came across with similar incidents. In the following case, the High Court of Lahore entertained a revisional application filed by the Bar Association on behalf of the convict. The Court granted relief and praised the Bar saying that ‘the High Court Bar Association is doing a public service by brining to notice instances where the sentence is excessive’. [See also- AIR 1968 Cal 266] Thereafter, the matter was brought before the High Court Division to unveil the truth and further, a guideline was prayed for ensuring the presence of lawyers which recording confessions by a Magistrate. The High Court Division constituted a judicial committee to examine the incidences. The Committee conducted through investigation and found that the police tortured the accused persons to extract confession. The matter is pending before the High Court Division and yet to be decided finally. The initiative taken by Law Lab was widely circulated in all the press and electronic media of the country.