The High Court has stayed the transfer of the case, filed against army major Nazir Uddin over the torture of his wife, Dhaka University student Nusrat Jahan Tushti, for dowry, to the military court from the special tribunal.
Published : 12 Aug 2015, 03:40 PM
It has also stayed proceedings of the case after question was raised over whether the case filed under Women and Children Repression Prevention Act could be tried in a military court.
The bench of justices Mirza Hussain Haider and AKM Zahirul Hoque gave the order on Wednesday after initial hearing of a petition filed by Tushti’s father Md Nurul Islam Bhuiyan, a retired official of Krishi Bank.
Following the order, the petitioner’s lawyer Anir R Haque said, “The case’s proceedings as well as effectiveness of the letter sent by Army headquarters to the tribunal, asking for the case documents for the trial in a military court, have been stayed until the legal question is resolved.”
The Army headquarters had written to Tangail’s Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, which was trying the case filed by Tushti’s family, asking for the case documents to try the army officer in a military court.
The letter dated May 11, was signed by Area Commander (Logistics) Maj Gen Mizanur Rahman Khan.
Bhuiyan challenged the letter in the petition to the High Court arguing that only special courts have jurisdiction to try cases filed under special acts, not the Court Martial.
The court in a rule also asked the defence secretary, law secretary, area commander, chief of army staff, Tangail’s Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal judge and advocate general to show reasons why sending such a letter should not be deemed illegal.
“Cases filed under Women and Children Repression Prevention Act is not eligible for Court Martial. Because the third article of the act says no matter what other laws say, the act will prevail,” Haque said.
“The cases eligible to be tried under general criminal court can only be tried in Court Martial.”
The petitioner’s lawyer also pointed out that if proven guilty, the army major would face three-year prison term under the special act whereas a military court would only give him a year’s prison term.
Dhaka University’s MBA first-semester student Tushti was rescued from her in-law’s house in Tangail’s Kalihati in critical condition and admitted to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital on Mar 30.
Tushti’s father Nurul Islam, a retired banker, alleged that her army officer husband Nazir Uddin and father-in-law, retired army officer Idris Ali, had tortured her in front of them for dowry.
He said his wife Shahnaz Akter and son Muyeed Hasan were also assaulted when they tried to intervene.
Nazir Uddin, then a platoon commander at the Bangladesh Military Academy in Chittagong’s Bhatiari, was brought back to Dhaka after the allegations surfaced.
A case was filed with the special court in Tangail on Apr 2 over the incident.